Gangster

Daehyun sat on his bed bored, staring at the corner. He hadn’t picked up the ball since it fell that night. But more importantly Youngjae was running late.

He was always either on time or early, but never late.

Daehyun jumped from the bed, about to say something to Yongguk when the door creaked open.

He eyed the door, until finally he saw his timid Angel squeeze through the barely opened door.

The frown deepened on his lips. He stood still in his spot; his eyes fixated on the intern.

The younger moved slowly toward the chair not paying attention to him. He walked with pained limp, his head hanging down and his shoulders sinking deeper. He wore his usual long sleeves but this time it was a turtleneck pulled all the way up to his chin. He carefully, lowered himself in the chair right in front of Daehyun. He moved silently as if he was afraid to make a single sound. Or maybe he was afraid.

Daehyun waited for him to speak first but the younger didn’t utter a word, or a sound. He didn’t even look at him.

Daehyun squatted down in front of him to get a better look at him.

“Angel, what’s wrong?” He whispered.

He leaned forward but stopped as soon as he spotted a pale scratch that the younger’s makeup failed to hide. He could see right through the makeup that tried to hide the maps of bruises under his chin up to his left eye. Youngjae’s skills were good. It could fool anyone. But Daehyun wasn’t anyone. He knew better. He had to for his Angel.

His lip twitched but he swallowed back the heat of his rage, not wanting to frighten his love.

“We should begin the session.” Youngjae’s voice was hoarse as he fumbled with the clipboard and pen.

Daehyun never saw Youngjae smile or show any traces of a smile after that. He was no longer as receptive to Daehyun’s stories and Daehyun sensed that the intern was no longer in love with him.

Daehyun paced the room kicking the wall and punching everything in his line of sight until Yongguk entered the room. Yongguk cocked an eyebrow at his boss’s bloodied knuckles.

Daehyun stopped to look at Yongguk, his hair damp and straggly from the sweat he worked up. He straightened up with a sudden crooked smile.

“I am…”

He waved his hand in a grand gesture, glancing up in the air as if to think.

“I am going to kill him.” He announced as if it was the brightest idea he’d ever thought of.

Yongguk didn’t react nor respond. He knew that he was going to kill him from the beginning, whether the boyfriend turned out to be a horrible human being or not, Daehyun wanted Youngjae. And that was what he was going to get.

It had been two and a half months since Daehyun admitted himself into the hospital. It’d been two months since he’d been talking to his Youngjae as his patient. It had taken three long weeks to finally get something close to a smile from him. And it’s been over two weeks since he’s last seen that faint smile. The idea seemed nothing more than a distant fever dream. Every day the intern was putting on more layers of clothes, and they were only nearing the end of summer.

Daehyun had to be more careful with him than before. It felt like walking on the thinnest sheet of already cracked glass being held together by paper craft glue. Daehyun didn’t mind having to be careful, but he hated seeing the younger like that. He hated knowing what was going on and letting the man walk around alive.

Daehyun laughed to himself as if to just remember something, “I can’t kill him so easily.”

“I’m going to carve the skin out of the very palm of his hands, and slowly cut each of his fingers into three…”

Yongguk listened to every detail. He didn’t care about any of his boss’s plans and very rarely told him if he was overdoing it. But Yongguk had also seen Youngjae and was invested in when it would finally be time to leave the place. He had already packed the tools for his boss to get creative with, it was only a matter of when.

Daehyun turned to Yongguk and smiled evocatively.

-

“Hey Jae!”

Youngjae stumbled out the locker room. His mind was spinning, and every part of his body was screaming at him in agonized hatred for having been so weak minded.

“…Jae? Are you alright?” Jongup rested his hand on his shoulder.

Youngjae flinched but nodded, teary-eyed. He was so tired. He hadn’t gotten any sleep at all the past several nights. His body ached no matter what side he slept on. It didn’t help that he had to wake up early and apply makeup every morning.

“I’m just …” He shook his head, something sharp shooting up it, “…tired.”

Jongup’s lips fell into a heavy frown. “You need to go home. You have to rest.” He told him firmly.

Youngjae flinched at his friend’s unexpectedly sharp tone. He weakly shook his head. “I can’t. Minjun…”

“Then you can sleep at my place. I’ll take you there now.” Jongup wasn’t going to back down so easily.

Youngjae quickly shook his head. His lips trembled into an exhausted smile as he hugged his clipboard shyly. “Minjun has a surprise for me.” He confessed.

Jongup blinked thrown off by the statement.

“He told me he’ll have a surprise for me, and he’d prepare it while I was at work, so I can’t go home earlier.” Youngjae told him unable to hide his excitement.

Jongup however wasn’t too convinced but wanted to hope what he was saying was true. He didn’t want to ruin his mood if that was so.

“Fine, but at least let me drop you home after work. I don’t know how you made it here in that condition.”

Youngjae gave him a lazy nod and walked off first for his daily session.

“Why are you still with him?”

Youngjae was caught by surprise by the question. He was sitting in his chair and Daehyun was laid on his back on the bed. His leg propped on his right knee. Though he knew that the elder tried to hide it, Youngjae sensed it when he was angry, and today he seemed to be in a worse mood than usual. But Youngjae (to his own surprise) wasn’t bothered by it. Daehyun didn’t scare him, despite being unpredictable and unsteady.

Daehyun slowly turned his head to look at him.

“I know what he does to you. You can’t hide it from me.”

Youngjae’s eyes slowly widened. How does he know? He thought of Daehyun’s words from weeks before.

‘This is my world.’

Youngjae hesitantly looked at him studying him closely. What is he?

Daehyun looked back at him with a stern but gentle stare.

“H-He’s just stressed.” Youngjae said feeling himself grow defensive, but he forced himself to calm down. He wasn’t afraid of Daehyun, but he still didn’t know what he was capable of.

Daehyun swung his legs over his bed, sitting up. He pressed his feet onto the soft floor and stalked up to him.

Youngjae leaned back in his seat. A cold shiver shook up his spine.

Daehyun stopped a few inches in front of him and leaned down. He dragged his finger down Youngjae’s cheek to his chin.

“My sweet Angel, if someone loves you…they won’t hurt you.” His words poured tenderly into his ears like sugared cream.

Daehyun pulled his hand away, a wave of disappointment washed over Youngjae’s chest, strangely feeling colder than before.

“Your face is warm,” Daehyun diagnosed, “You have a cold.”

Youngjae furrowed his brow. He didn’t feel bad aside from everything else.

“You should rest. Go home. What would happen if an Angel were to get sick?”

Youngjae didn’t respond. How could he tell him about his surprise? Would it anger him? How would he respond? Youngjae subconsciously gripped his clipboard.

“Love.”

Daehyun’s voice snapped him from his invading thoughts. The patient suddenly pulled something from behind him.

“Before you go.” Sitting in the cushion of his hand was a Rubik’s cube. Youngjae blinked dumbfounded, staring at his hand.

Daehyun chuckled overwhelmed by the cute way the younger’s cheeks puffed whenever he was confused.

Youngjae blushed in embarrassment.

“It’s for you. Since the last one broke. Only this time you won’t have to return it.” Daehyun explained, “Just try not to break it this time.”

Youngjae stared at the colorful cube in the elder’s hand. He had a twisted, sick feeling that this was some sort of goodbye from him. If this really was his world, he wouldn’t spend his time or whole life in a psych ward. Yet, he still couldn’t imagine the place without him.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to move any time soon, Daehyun took his hand and placed the cube in his palm, curling the younger’s fingers over it.

Youngjae’