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E I G H T

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My muscles were killing me.

I could feel my neck and my arms hurting, and when I peeled back my shirt in my room, I saw that a huge bruise had blossomed on my back. Shaking my head, and feeling thankful that I’d been placed in a private room all to myself, I put on a fresh new shirt and shorts. Practise had been excruciating, but it had given me what I needed the most – hope. I looked at the energy drink which stayed in my bag, the contents and dregs long gone, but the can still in my bag. I’d washed it carefully and written with sharpie on it the words he’d said to me – work hard to get to your goal. It would be reminder of what I’d achieved so far and what I’d yet to achieve in the future with these boys.

“DINNER TIME!” Daehyun suddenly yelled, snapping me from my thoughts.

I laughed when I heard Zelo making his monkey sounds in excitement, while Jong Up followed with a string of curse words. A noise that sounded like a hoard of elephants passed by my closed door, and I opened it to see them clamouring at the table excitedly. Walking towards the table, I beamed at them, but they were too busy looking at the dishes on the table. Although the boys didn’t seem to have outside jobs, they had enough to purchase such delicacies. A plate of perfectly roasted beef, along with kimchi and other small plates sat on one end, while a huge bowl ofsamgyetang sat in the middle. Its aroma of fresh chicken and Korean ginseng wafted into my nose, and I felt a huge aching in my stomach as I sniffed at it. “, man, look at my hands!” Himchan suddenly said as he walked towards me, his fingers wrinkled and pruney. I laughed as I watched him, his hair dishevelled and a cute pink apron tied around his waist. “That’s a really hot look, Himchan. You should try it with the ladies,” I said, snickering.

 He glared at me, yanking the apron off in an outrage before joining all of us at the table. “Next time, I’ll make sure to spit in your food, brat,” he growled, but he said it while smiling. Grinning, I took the seat next to him.

As Himchan and I sat down, everyone else began to take their place, the chair at the head of the table still empty.

“YONG GUKKIE HYUNG-NIM!” Zelo yelled, his voice a sharp shrill.

Jong Up rolled his eyes, grabbing a cherry tomato from a plate and flicking it at the younger boy. Furrowing his eyebrows, Zelo stared at it as it hit his forehead, gasping. “Cherry tomato – you’re mine!” He said cutely, popping into his mouth and grinning happily. I laughed at the brotherly chemistry the two had, even though Jong Up always reacted towards Zelo as if the maknae were a plague. “They kind of remind me of us,” I said to Himchan, who stuck his tongue out at me and was about to make a remark about my appearance, until Yong Guk came. At the presence of the leader, the whole team quieted down. “Yah, you little bastard, eating even before hyung sits at the table?” He said in greeting, but there was a smirk on his face and he didn’t seem angry at all.

“You take too long, leader-nim,” Zelo said, pouting.

“Pubescent little boy, eating all my food,” Yong Guk snapped, grinning.

Taking his place at the table, the first thing he did was hand out the plates and cutlery, which surprised me. Our leader wasn’t all that ruthless – he had manners and took part in the work just like everyone else. Meticulously, he placed a spoon and fork by each bowl, and noticing Zelo sneaking handfuls of cherry tomatoes, took the bowl of them and placed it in front of the child. Everyone seemed to respect him not out of fear, but instead because he was a genuinely responsible person – and he seemed to take care of everyone quite well. Serving himself last, he put a piece of meat on everyone’s bowls before taking his own. Everyone began wolfing down food, and I could understand the reason why: even I was famished from practise. Scooping up rice into my little silver bowl, I inhaled the scent and sighed.

“We’re not bad at cooking, considering we’re delinquents, huh?” Himchan smirked, glancing at me as I stuffed my mouth.

“I was getting sick of eating ramen three times a day,” I said, between large bites.

“YAH, GET YOUR OWN MEAT!” Jong Up suddenly yelled, glaring at Zelo.

Zelo looked at him innocently, but took his chopsticks and swiftly stole another piece. In a fit of outrage, Jong Up grabbed two handfuls of cherry tomatoes and stuffed them in Zelo’s hood, while Zelo cackled with laughter. Jong Up grew furious once again and tackled the boy to the ground, where random expletives from Jong Up could be heard while Zelo’s baby giggles doubled. “Leader, you give this brat too much free time. Can’t you tell him to go away and bother someone else?” Jong up retorted, tickling him as  Zelo suddenly let out a peal of laughter.  “This jerk, I’m starving and he decides to eat my meat-“ Young Jae glared at them sternly, disapproving of their fun-loving nature, while Yong Guk seemed to enjoy the commotion. He gave them a few more minutes of cussing and laughter until he spoke up. “YAH, both of you are troublemakers. If you don’t behave yourself, we won’t bring you to our next mission – and it’s at a club.”

“Club?” Daehyun asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Club?” Zelo said, a huge grin materializing on his face.

“Girls?” Himchan asked, getting excited.

He stared at the crotch of his pants and looked at me. “This baby needs a bit of roughhousing since it’s been missing out all this week,” he grinned, while I punched him.

“Shut your dirty mouth,” I said, flinging a napkin at his face.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Yong Guk glare over at us, so I became quiet immediately.

“So,” he began, taking his gaze off of us. “Excluding the dirty jokes and the ticklish juveniles in the corner, I felt that it was time we had another mission.”

Zelo and Jong Up ran back to the table, taking their places and listening attentively. It seemed as if the boys hadn’t been allowed to go out for a while, because everyone had on a look of spectacular interest – including Young Jae, who was about as emotional as a rock. They’d even stopped eating, which was a massive feat, considering that they were all such physically active boys. Although they weren’t ruthless fighters at all, they seemed to enjoy the sport quite a bit, because the energy in the room seemed to grow with every word Yong Guk said. “We’re going to be heading to fancy club, so I need you all in your best formal attire. Only the richest, wealthiest of the elites are able to enter this place, so please mind your manners. For the night, pretend that you’re one of those socialites as well.

To remind you all to behave, Young Jae has gotten a tip that Nic’s group will be there, which brings me to the point: this is not a game, boys.  Please keep your eye on the lookout. They have bombs and nuclear weapons up their sleeves, while we have our own two fists.

Don’t be foolish and underestimate them. ”

There was silence for a couple of seconds as everyone took in Yong Guk’s words.

“Those ing bastards, wiping their asses with one-hundred dollar bills,” Jong Up suddenly snarled, biting into his steak angrily. His teeth tore at it viciously as he broke the silence.

“Well, we have one of those ing bastards right here,” Zelo said, grinning as he pointed at Himchan.  

Himchan stuck out his tongue and leaned back in his chair, but his eyes had that same hardness as they did when I visited his flat. It seemed that his wealth was a sore topic for him, and I’d begun to notice a pattern of change in his personality whenever the topic came up. “ you, little brat, you’ve never even had the privilege to touch a piece of gold.”  He snapped, while Zelo pouted. “Just ‘cause I’m not a rich prick like you doesn’t mean that you can ing say it out loud,” he snapped, and my eyes widened as this was the first time I’d seen Zelo angry. “You’re a jerk, Himchan,” Zelo said again, displaying exceptionally rude manners as he dropped the hyung from Himchan’s name. Himchan looked conflicted for a second, and I guessed at that moment that money had always been a tight spot for Zelo.

Placing my hand on Himchan’s back and rubbing it soothingly, I stared at both of them.

“Calm down, you two. Zelo, don’t talk to your hyung like that. Himchan, quiet down,” Yong Guk said, as I squeezed Himchan’s hand reassuringly under the table. He squeezed back tightly, and then let go. “Zelo, apologize. Himchan is your hyung and I won’t tolerate any disrespectfulness between you two,” Yong Guk said, the leadership in him coming out as he smoothed the situation. “Himchan, don’t provoke him like that. Control your anger. You’re better than that.” Yong Guk added, looking at him. However, I saw him wink at Himchan, and Himchan let out a small smile, nodding. “Sorry hyung,” Zelo said, bowing down his head as he sent his apologies, while Himchan let out a laugh and ruffled the younger member’s hair. “S’okay, Z, but next time I’ll really kick your balls.”

Zelo made a disgusted face, but Yong Guk had seamlessly made up the situation.

I stared at him, impressed at his skills with the members, but he just continued eating calmly.