Waking up after digesting all that information was surreal to say the least. Doyoung managed to hoist himself from his bed but despondently slumped down again when he made eye contact with his brother's signature black leather gloves resting on the dining table, untouched from the last time he wore them in their shared, box-like apartment. He always assumed the leather was to compliment Donghyun's classic gang member aesthetic, but he was probably using it as a block from other people's hands.

How did I not see? The countless times Donghyun came home and I could just tell something had just seriously messed up him. He would try to play it off, turn to me and carve the most genuine, warm smile on his face he could but his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Something had shifted, something had broken, something that could and should never be further explored but should simply sit in the farthest corner of Donghyun's brain hopefully gathering dust. I could see it. I could ing tell so why didn't I pry? Why didn't I should insist a little more that Donghyun fill me in on whatever had clearly just traumatised him? What kind of brother am I? 

Doyoung let himself slide off the bed and crumble to the floor. The emotional dam Doyoung had built in an effort not to digest the vision, the new gang after him or his brother's lies shattered into a million fragments as tear after tear escaped and burrowed down Doyoung's face. He felt cheated by everyone. On the one hand Johnny was also Donghyun's best friend and had a responsibility to hold towards him, but he also had a duty to free Doyoung from the hate filling his heart which was directed at the wrong person. 

... Jaehyun. How the am I gonna face him? What do you say to a guy after you've been hell bent on slitting his throat for three years for a crime he didn't commit? Would Jaehyun even forgive me? Look, why do I even care? 

Doyoung abruptly paused his train of thought as he heard three soft knocks at his front door. No way... the God's couldn't have found me that quickly... no way...

"!" Doyoung grumbled and he swiftly picked himself up and grabbed the biggest, sharpest knife he could find on the kitchen counter. As he looked through the peep hole all he could make out was a dark figure with a black mask and hood strategically positioned on their face so there was no way to make out who it was. It had to be one of the God's but how did they find him so fast?

"I know you're in there" A deep, raspy voice spoke playfully.

"Sick bastard" Doyoung mumbled to himself. He slowly flicked the lock first lock and slickly shifted the second open. In an instant Doyoung swung open the door, grabbed the figure by their shirt whilst trailing them inside and slamming the door again. 

"What the do you want from me!" Doyoung hissed as he shoved the masked large frame against the door and pressed the knife against their throat, ready to slice at any sudden movements.

The figure immediately began clearing their throat wildly and when they spoke a much softer, familiar voice escaped. "Doyoung! Hey, chill it's me! Jaehyun! Sorry my voice is all ed up, pollen, you know how it is... I have a sneaking suspicion you're not trying to flirt right now." Jaehyun sputtered as he held his hands in the air in defence. 

Doyoung's eyes widened to a freakish level as he realised his mistake and immediately released the other from his death grip. 

"! J-Jaehyun I'm really sorry, did I cut you?" Doyoung stammered out as he began closely inspecting Jaehyun's neck. Although as Doyoung was examining the other for wounds, he noticed a scent he'd never smelled before but there was a familiarity to it, a comfort, a freshness. There was a cool mint smell coming off Jaehyun that had a sharpness to it but a new aroma of vanilla errupted from Jaehyun which complimented the coolness of the mint with its elegant, luxurious nature. Doyoung closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to let all the fragrances enter his nose.

"Uhh... don't worry Doyoung, I'm okay" Jaehyun said as he slowly lowered Doyoung's hands away from him by softly cupping his wrists. Doyoung, dragged out of his own little paradise of fragrances,  flinched away from Jaehyun's touch. He then turned and quickly averted his gaze from the taller one. 

"I- look, I'm really sorry I wouldn't have done that if I knew it was you... but what the hell are you doing coming to my apartment dressed like that? And how do you know where I live? Doyoung's volume steadily got higher as he posed each question although he still hadn't turned his body back to be parrallel with Jaehyun's. Jaehyun curiously peered round to try meet Doyoung's face but his efforts were to no avail. 

"Yeah, you're right I should've called beforehand, especially with the Gods and everything but I had to make sure no one recognised me in case someone is following me to get to you. But anyway, I actually wanted to talk to you-" 

"How do you have my number?" This invasion of privacy caused Doyoung to snap his face towards Jaehyun but he caught himself half way through and assumed his previous cross-armed, shy stance as before. 

"Well, you can blame Johnny for that one. Since our gangs are joining forces to protect you, Johnny thought that the leaders should have your number just in case. However, after much negotiation Johnny has limited me to one non-emergency text to you a day which should be coming in right about now" Jaehyun said as he tapped at his phone. 

Doyoung picked his phone off the table and turned it on as Jaehyun nervously danced on one stop, eagerly awaiting. But as Doyoung turned his phone on it errupted in multiple misssed calls and texts from Johnny. Doyoung hurriedly called his friend immediately, Johnny is not a man you want to piss off even if you are like family to him.

"Doyoung, what the hell? Did you not get any of my texts? We're all meeting in the forest to begin physical training and I don't like the way Haechan is looking at Mark, you've gotta hurry. And that Jaehyun is no where to be found as well!" Doyoung found that when Johnny is upset its best to hold the phone at a safe distance away from your ear to preserve any hearing as Johnny could get quite high pitched. 

Doyoung had to struggle to interupt the older one as he was on a creative roll with Jaehyun insults.  "J-Johnny, h-hey man cool it. I'm sorry I had my phone turned off and I was asleep. Jaehyun is here too we're heading over now. Bye." 

As Doyoung hung up the phone he immediately began sprinting around the apartment, brushing his teeth with one hand and hunting for a clean hoodie with the other. All the while Jaehyun remained patiently at the front door, happy as could be.

"You're not a morning person are you, bunny?" Jaehyun chuckled to himself, his mischievous,  distracting dimples creeping into his cheeks as he did so. 

"Shut it and start running" Doyoung said as he made for the door. "You really don't wanna mess with Johnny when he's angry and Haechan is starting to take an interest in Mark."

"... ! Dammit Haechan!" Jaehyun exclaimed as he sprinted for the door. 

 

Doyoung and Jaehyun's ran breathlessly until they reached the entrance that would lead them towards the rest of the group. They both stopped for a moment to catch their breath, but also to prepare for a scolding from Johnny. 

"So..." Jaehyun breathed. "About earlier, I mentioned there was something I wanted to talk to you about-"

Jaehyun and Doyoung both suddenly felt a sharp pinch and immediately let out cries of pain. Johnny did not hesitate in wordlessly dragging the two towards the rest of the group by the edge of their ears, despite their wails. Once they had reached the group he through both bodies to the ground. 

"You deserve much worse for making me wait so long. Do you have any idea how hard it is to control your gang, Jaehyun? Animals." Johnny shook as his as he slipped into his famous lecture tone. Taeil laid a hand on Johnny's shoulder reassuringly which was followed by a shared nod between the two. Taeil then stepped forward to let the frustrated Johnny cool down. 

"Okay, guys. As Johnny explained earlier, Doyoung is in a lot of danger. So we obviously need to prepare for a fight but to do that we need to see where you're already at. Johnny will be evaluating you guys and helping you with technique but we thought it would be good for you guys to get any frustrations or whatever other beef you have with eachother out in the open." Taeil spoke confidently as he gave a quick gaze at Yuta and Jungwoo who seemed eager for round two. 

"Anyway" Taeil continued. "Everyone already picked their teams beforehand so I'm afraid you'll be stuck fighting eachother Jaehyun and Doyoung." Taeil spoke with a sympathetic look towards Doyoung, as if to apologise for forcing him to fight his newly found ally. 

"So the weaklings are fighting eachother? Perfect, I wanted a challenge today. Yesterday was way too easy, Taeil." Yuta chuckled slyly as he cracked his knuckles threateningly, maintaining eye contact with Taeil as he did so. 

Johnny's head immediately shot up into action but has he attempted to jump up, Taeil's strong hand on his boyfriend's shoulder solidified him in place. "Actually, I'll be fighting you and Jungwoo. Shouldn't be too hard for you guys against a weakling like me, right?" Taeil spoke as he began to slowy approach the two taller ones. Suddenly the aura had changed and Jaehyun noticed a nervousness in Yuta and Jungwoo he had never noticed before, causing him to let out a small laugh.

This laugh triggered an insecure rage in Jungwoo and Yuta, causing them to run full speed at Taeil. Taeil's small, delicate hands slowly curled into fists and moved swiftly as he reeled himself to throw the first punch at the front of Yuta's nose, causing an explosion of blood to flood out of his nose, sending Yuta staggering backwards. Jungwoo, in a state of shock froze briefly which gave Taeil enough time to give a swift kick across the air towards Jungwoo's knee immediately knocking him off his feet. 

Taeil approached the two and stared pitifully at the one clutching his face shamefully and the other clinging to his legs in a ball on the dirty forest floor. He knelt down to their level as he whispered, "Wow, that was a great warm up you guys. Ready for round one?" He said as he smiled warmly. 

Johnny was distracted for a moment as he proudly watched Taeil take his revenge. Taeil may look small and delicate but he was actually incredibly strong... one could say scarily, intimidatingly strong but that only made Johnny all the more proud at his love's ability to hold back. He knew Taeil could've caused much more damage but decided hold back, which was precisely why he didn't fight back that day. His hate for unnecessary violance always prevailed any instinct to kill, that and the amusement he knew would get out of Jungwoo and Yuta's reaction when they realised his strength. 

Johnny shook his head and returned to his knife training with Sicheng. Sicheng wasn't that gifted physically but he could move very swiftly and was quick on his feet, which was very useful for certain missions. 

"You just have to adjust your grip slightly here-" Johnny paused as he was interrupted by a phone ringing. 

", sorry I forgot to turn it off."Sicheng's voice grew smaller and his face grew pale as he checked his screen to see who was calling. "U-um sorry, Johnny, I-I'm really sorry but d-do you mind if I get this?" Sicheng starred pleadingly at Johnny. 

"Uh, yeah go ahead, Sicheng it looks important, no worries" Johnny nodded at Sicheng who was already scattering off far into the woods to answer his alarming call. This didn't sit well with Johnny, this wasn't the first time this had happened... he attempted to put his uneasiness at bay as he observed Haechan and Mark train. 

Strength, speed and agility wise Mark and Haechan matched eachother perfectly. Neither one was better than the other but they're competitiveness couldn't even be measured. Mark grunted loudly as Haechan wrestled with Mark to plant him with his back against a tree, the leaves rustling anxiously underneath their overbearing stomps. Mark winced as his head hit the bark and gritted his teeth as he peered into Haechan's wide grin. Their faces inched closer and closer together, their breath heavy and uneven until their noses almost touched. It seemed as if the world stopped as all the two could focus on was eachother. Until Mark was dragged out of that strange universe when he felt a finger tap his nose. He paused with a confused expression.

"Boop!" Haechan yelled accompanied with his high pitched cackle and mischievous tone. Mark roared in anger as he used all his strength to push the younger one the ground with his fist raised in the air, ready for impact.

"I told you to take this seriously!" Mark exclaimed as he sat on the other he had firmly pinned to the ground. 

"Ha... damn Mark. I'll be honest... I never pegged you as a top. Good to know." Haechan giggled as he shoved the other one off him. Teasing Mark gave Haechan an out of body experience- the most elated state of being in which he felt as though he was floating through a sea of delicate clouds, all pictured with Mark's signature scowl. This feeling made Haechan feel complete, whole, like every battle he had faced in life was leading him up to this perfect moment where he could finally get a glimpse of feeling utterly complete. 

Mark lay flabbergasted momentarily, caught in the captivating image of Haechan's content, smug face. There was something about Haechan that made Mark's blood boil... no, it was more like his heart raced much faster than usual. He felt a strange sensation in his stomach... moths? No, butterflies. Thousands of directionless, confused butterflies darting rapidly from side to side, making rough collisions that caused Mark to feel ill. He noticed everytime his skin would brush against Haechan's skin that was uncharacteristically soft and almost... velvet-like, his pulse would elevate to an ungodly rate to the point where he pondered if he was having a heart attack. His plump, pale lips with a hint of rouge lips curling into a smile along with the slight crinkle of his warm, comforting eyes was enough to make Mark's heart stop. Why did Mark let Haechan get to him so much? What was it about this little that bothered him so much? He's just any other annoying guy, right? ... right?

Mark snapped himself back into action. He thought for a moment about coming back with a strong retort but honestly Mark had never been one for clever, bad comebacks so he decided to go with a classic Mark move: scream maniacly while running full speed at the enemy, praying to God his prey wouldn't foil his plan and move slightly to the right or left... safe to say his prayers fell on deaf ears yet again. 

Johnny decided to avert his gaze from... whatever Mark and Haechan were doing and observe Doyoung and Jaehyun. Johnny had been told off many times by Taeil for having a perpetually worried look in his eye everytime he saw Doyoung fight. He knew he should have confidence in his friend, Doyoung has proven himself time and time again but with Donghyun gone Johnny felt an even stronger sense of protection over Doyoung. He shook his head and tried to simply focus on their technique.

Doyoung was swift. He had a talent for learning his enemies patterns of attack very quickly. Not to mention he was quite strong as well so any opponent up against Doyoung never usually lasted long if Doyoung was putting all his effort into it. Jaehyun was the first to make Doyoung want to forget his patience for observing his opponents movements and simply want to blindly strike over and over again out of pure frustration. Jaehyun simply wasn't attacking Doyoung but continually dodging his hits and keeping himself constantly on the move. Doyoung wanted a real fight. He needed a real fight. He couldn't stand being pitied, especially not by a cocky bastard like Jaehyun. 

"Come on, hit me! Why are you just dodging?" Doyoung yelled as he threw a few more rapid punches, throwing all his weight into them in the hopes one would make contact with his target. 

"Nah, it's more fun looking at you. You know you have really beautiful eyes? The murdurous rage in them kind of compliments their lovliness, you know?" Jaehyun said confidently. Doyoung considered how good an actor Jaehyun must be, he's really making it seem as though he means every word. 

Doyoung normally would've gave an aggressive retort probably involving something about Jaehyun being a dickhead but Doyoung had developed somewhat of a shyness around Jaehyun now. Ever since he found out he had been falsely accusing Jaehyun for years, he felt an overwhelming guilt that seemed to latch onto him, unwilling to let go.

Doyoung simply turned away bashfully and continued to look for an opening. Both of them continued this dance for a while longer, observing eachother closely and carefully until a blood curdling scream interrupted them, causing them to jump out of their skin. As he rapidly snapped their heads to the direction of the commotion, they witnessed a struggling Mark immitating a banshee while Haechan appeared to be agressively tickling him

"H-Hae...c-chan! I swear to God I will bite you! I'm not k-kidding! D-don't w-with m-e!" Mark howled in between gasps and screams as he had a grasp on Haechan's arm, attempting to bring it towards his mouth, teeth rearing to make contact with Haechan's skin as the younger laughed a laugh that can only be compared to serial killer who collects fingers for a living. 

All gang members stood in a state of shock, unsure whether to help or root for Mark (Haechan had pissed off all the gang members at one point or another so none of them would've necessarily minded if Haechan got his arm bitten off by a desperate Mark). 

Finally Johnny ran over to break them up but as he did he accidentally knocked Doyoung over, he quickly glanced back and apologised but kept moving as screams began to erupt from Haechan along with a muffled battle cry from Mark. Before Doyoung could even process what happened, he found himself on top of an equally confused Jaehyun. The two locked eyes, unsure what to do next. 

"Uh, hi there" Jaehyun said quietly to Doyoung who was inches from his face. 

"Um... hey" Doyoung replied awkwardly. Jaehyun chuckled then made a move to get up but as he did Doyoung pushed him back to the ground. Jaehyun immediately looked towards him, more confused than ever but as he made a move to speak Doyoung quickly clapped his hand over Jaehyun's mouth.

"Look, I just need to say this quickly and I don't want you to interrupt me, got it?" Doyoung questioned intensely which was met with a slow, concerned nod from Jaehyun.

Doyoung let out a loud sigh. "Okay... I'm an , okay? W-well what I mean to say is I... I'm sorry. It wasn't right for me to immediately blame you for what happened to my brother and to do it for so long... it must've been really ty not being able to clear your name because I was too stubborn to listen. I think I needed someone to blame and... you were that person. Look, the only reason I'm doing this is because I've been feeling super guilty and it's a weird feeling, I don't like it and I'm sick of it so let's just move past this. That is, if you'll forgive me...?" Doyoung started off his speech confidently but let it fall into a meer mumble towards the end as he realised what this looked like from an outside perspective. He quickly removed his hand from Jaehyun's still staring face and made a move to get up while mumbling more sorrys. But as he did Jaehyun grabbed his arm, causing Doyoung to snap his head towards the other.

Jaehyun loosened his grip and made his way up to Doyoung's face where he delicately his now reddening cheeks. "How could I not forgive a face like that?" Jaehyun said in a low, warm whisper that sent a shiver up Doyoung's spine. 

Doyoung, who momentarily found himself lost in Jaehyun's gaze quickly sprung up and dusted himself off. He looked over to Johnny who had his head in his hands as he groaned, "I think we should call this a day...".