" He did what? " Ren wails, his syllables prolonged in a mournful cry that adds even more hilarity to your stoic expression. A deep, over exaggerated breath of air is in. " He hit it and quit it " You deadpan. Eyes not leaving the fumes that billow off the top of your coffee. They dance away in wry wisps. Dissolved into the frosty air that leaves your nose red as Rudolph. Ren slams his palms onto the table with a resounding bang. 

" him! " The blond boy shrieks. You can't help up snort, " Already did Ren. That's kind of the problem " 

" No! I mean- ugh! Forget that bastard, " Your fiery co-worker says with a violent shake of his head. Dainty hands waving back and forth as if he could erase the prominent bruises that Jongin left imprinted into your flesh. They still smoldered like dying embers. This dull heat that throbbed on your neck, your thighs and sides. If only Ren could see the patterns of fingers on your hips-- the evidence of Jongin's mouth across your chest and if only he could see the love bites blooming on your shoulders. Then, he would understand that forgetting Jongin, wasn't possible. Not now, probably not ever because he had left a part of himself with you. Something small and insignificant but also undeniable and nagging, " I said, forget him! " Ren repeats. Noticing you spacing out and frowning at the hazy memories of Jongin's smokey voice in your ear. You moan a pathetic cry then, face buried into your arms so no one would see how miserable you looked, " I liked him though " 

Ren laughs, high and clear like church bells " See? You're already referring to your feelings for him in the past tense! This is good! Progress, my dear, progress. " He reaches across the table. Unfolding your arms and making you look up. His smiling face is hard to resist. Especially with those thin, curvy lips that were suspiciously pink-- even for someone as androgynous as Ren. " Hey! " The blond boy suddenly remembers something that had slipped your mind days ago,  " What? " you reply and he gapes at you in shock- or more like you were the stupidest girl on the planet. Either or to be honest. " Didn't your neighbor ask you out the other day? " Ren asks, well more like tells you. He knows and his adamant tone makes it quite difficult for you feign innocence. " What neighbor? " You splutter and Ren narrows his eyes. 

A brief, stagnant silence hangs in the air. You awkwardly pretend to remember with widened eyes and lips shaped like a small ' o '. " Oh, you mean that neighbor "

Ren plays along for your sake. " Yes, that neighbor. Why don't you take him up on the offer? " He suggests, brown eyes sparkling with hope. You immediately look away and shake your head. Eyes slightly burning from not blinking enough-- or maybe you were gonna cry. Ren grabs one of your hands. Frowning at the look you send outside hopelessly. " Hey " He murmurs, voice taking a softer more comforting tone. You manage to meet his gaze and your friend sighs. Facial expression uncharacteristically apologetic " I'm sorry for being so pushy okay? I just don't like seeing you sad and you used to talk about Howon all the time! I mean, come on. One date won't kill you. Maybe he can take your mind off- well, you know who. " Ren finishes his argument with a quirk of his perfectly groomed eyebrows, your stare flickering toward your mug of coffee again. The deliberation is brief. " Okay-- " You agree, " but just one date "

Ren grins, quite proud of himself and you. But you're feeling no where near that. In fact, you're feeling pretty ashamed. Being too easy and all. You wondered where Jongin went off to. Pondered how sucha sweet looking creature could be so cruel as to leave minutes after making love to you...perhaps you were wrong--it wasn't love making. Just . Meaningless, . His first time? Pft, he must've told that to a lot of stupid girls like you. Those gold eyes, that boyish grin and saccharine voice. It was all a ploy-- a succesful one and even after you and Ren got back to work, all you could do is agonize over whether or not Jongin was thinking of you. He wasn't.

Jongin had never been an addict. He wasn't the type to be materialistic, greedy or lavish. No drug had roused him from his purity and only one woman, you, had ever corrupted his innocence. And yet, here he was. Drunk on power-- delirious due to the intoxication of speed and adrenaline. 

The boy was staring up at a deteriorating ceiling. His unhindered vision capturing the fine details of uneven boards and mossy spores. Xiumin nudges his thigh, " You okay there kid? " He asks with a snicker. Amused by Jongin's far away gaze and twitching smile that spreads across the gleaming teeth of a killer. Jongin looked absolutely mad. " Never been better, " The younger of the two confesses. Almost as if he couldn't believe it himself. He sits up eagerly. Turning to his new hyung with a crooked grin. " Will this ever go away? "

Xiumin laughs, showing off his gums and tilting back his head. " Nope. Every time feels like the first- " He confirms, " but don't live in it too much. "

" Why not? " Jongin retorts, Xiumin gives him a knowing look before elaborating. " Because you start liking it too much and when you start liking it too much, you get addicted " Jongin doesn't get it and his bewildered expression makes Xiumin sigh. " What's so bad about being addicted? " The naive boy queries, his pupils still blown out and fingers jittery. " You're ing high, Jongin. " The older boy clarifies, almost laughing at how painfully oblivious this newcomer was. " Yeah, so? " Jongin replies and Xiumin wants to smack him. This is precisely why dealing with puppies was either Suho's job or Kris's-- not his, he didn't have the patience for it. " People do stupid when they're high. " He answers and his hard voice tells Jongin that he shouldn't say anything else so he doesn't. Drifting back into sweet lucidity that was way better than any thick haze. Everything was crystal clear. Sharp and luminous. Beautiful even. Jongin couldn't find anything wrong with the world.

They sit in silence for a long time. Jongin's clarity fading as the scent of musk becomes stronger and stronger. He pretends to ignore it since Xiumin doesn't say anything but once it's potent enough to taste-- Jongin shifts uncomfortably. " What's that? " He asks and Xiumin spares him a lazy smile, " Smells like brotherhood "

Jongin's brows disppear under his outgrown bangs, " Brotherhood? " He repeats and Xiumin stands up. Stretching his arms high over his head and cracking his back. Jongin follows suit due to lack of anything better to do but when he leans back to stretch out his spine, Xiumin smacks his stomach. Palm flat against his tummy and making a loud thawk that echoes in the warehouse they reside in. Jongin grunts at the impact. Rubbing away the icy sting that accompanied the slap while his hyung shuffles toward the double entry doors they came in from. " Is that them? " Jongin asks, becoming Xiumin's taller shadow that loomed over the older boy's stout frame. Xiumin nods without turning around. Jongin peering over his head and jumping back like 5 feet when the doors are abruptly thrown wide open.

Two boys come tumbling inside. They're fighting-- rolling around and struggling so fast that their limbs were a blurr. Jongin couldn't tell which arm belonged to who nor he could he decipher the nature of their argument. It was impossible and he latches onto Xiumin's back when more of them enter. They're all nothing alike. Some lanky and tall--others lithe and compact. Jongin sees blonde hair, sandy brown, various shades of ebony, chesnut. Skin like alabaster, gold-- lips thick and supple, thin and curvy. He hears deep voices, sweet ones, some high pitched and one like church bells. They're a spectrum of beauty but share the same orbs of amber, flecked with bits of garnet. Jongin isn't sure what he was expecting when Xiumin said there was more of their " kind " but this certainly wasn't it.

" Hey. " One of the paler, scary looking boys calls out. He has a mean disposition and his rough voice comes out sharp enough to make Jongin cringe. The boys wrestling on the ground stop. Their grinning faces telling Jongin that they were definitely the trouble makers of the group--or pack, whatever. " Sorry Kris, " The taller, flower boy looking guy mocks. He's got this creepy huge smile and yanks the petite boy he was fighting with off the dusty ground. He is a delicate looking fellow but also more keen and quick to judge " Yeah, sorry. " He chimes in but all interest in them had been lost and directed to Jongin. Anxious, panicking Jongin who vertically challenged Xiumin fails to hide-- not that he tries. If anything he pushes him into the lime light. Literally throwing him to the wolves like a piece of meat. 

" This is Jongin, " Xiumin announces when all eyes are on them. His tone serious and most definitely concerned, " He has no idea what the is going on " 

" Do any of us? " Someone retorts and there is a chorus of Godly laughter that fills the room. Jongin doesn't feel any less on edge. Their gazes terrify him, as if these young boys were the monsters that hid under his bed and in his closet as a child. " Seriously though " Xiumin puts a deft hand on Jongin's shoulder, the younger boy flinching at the sudden gesture that seems to anchor him to the ground. He feels trapped now. Wishing he had never followed Xiumin here-- the exact point of nowhere. " He's clueless, found him in Seoul getting chased by the suits. " 

A/N : This must be confusing. Don't worry! Clarification comes soon e.e