"Umma! Appa! Noona! Noona!" A five year old Jongin crawled desperately towards his family. His father, the pillar of his family lay dead in the rain. The blood ran from his gunshot wounds in streams, just like Jongin's tears. 

His mother, the loving, caring, sweet woman who couldn't even kill a fly was sprawled out pathetically on the sidewalk, rain pouring over her ripped clothing.

His noonas, one five years older, one nine years older. They were both such endearing sisters and treated him with such care and love. And here they were, hanging limply from the street lamps, necks broken and rope burns clearly visible on their exposed skin. He cried and sobbed to himself as the gang of ten men, all wearing black, surrounded him. One man pointed a gun at his head, and the foolish and angered Jongin ran towards him. "Kill me then! Kill me like how you killed umma, appa, and noonas. Do it! I dare you!" The man chuckled and held the boy out at an arm's length. 

"Just because of that, I won't kill you. You can stay here, alive, and we can go. Goodbye, brave little warrior." The man smirked before leaving the scene of the crime. But before he left, he turned around and sent a bullet each through the corpses of Jongin's sisters. The cruel grin on his face and the cold black eyes would haunt the little boy for years to come. 

It had been thirteen years, and Jongin had grown, matured, and hardened into Kai. The naive little boy was no more, and in his stead was a cruel and heartless young man who never smiled. He became the leader of his own gang and was known as one of the most skilled fighters in the alleyways of South Korea. But despite this, Kai still went to school, and managed to get good grades. For while he wanted to extract revenge from the men who had so brutally and violently assaulted and killed his family, Kai still wanted follow his parents' dream of him becoming an educated person. 

Others at school were scared of the cold and harsh Kim Kai. Nobody associated themselves with him, except for one bright Chinese boy, named Luhan. Whether it be rain or shine, one of Kai's good days or bad days, Luhan never failed to deliver a cheery, "Annyeong, Kai-ssi!" and a delighted wave. Kai thought this little boy annoying, and ignored him for all his years through high school. However, Kai had gotten used to Luhan's happy greetings, and come senior year, when Luhan suddenly disappeared from school, did Kai realize how empty he felt without the heart-warming hellos. He asked around about the cute Chinese man, and found, to his surprise, that Luhan had in fact been a year older than him, and had graduated the year prior. Imagine Kai's greater surprise when he found that Luhan had been offered a job at the high school to be a music (singing) teacher. And so, Kai's greetings resumed. 

Then came a dreadful month: October. It was this month that Kai had finally located his family's murderers. And, taking his gang with him, he decided to wipe them out. Unbeknownst to him, one man had escaped, and was coming for revenge. In his absence of a week at school, things had become increasingly suspicious. The young teacher Luhan had suddenly and mysteriously quit his high-paying job, and had evacuated his home. Kai paid no heed to his disappearance until a picture of a bound and gagged Luhan showed up at his front door. The back of the picture told him all he needed to know: that Luhan had been kidnapped by the last man of the opposing gang and would be held hostage until Kai came and paid with his own life. If Kai refused to come within a week, Luhan would be killed, and his body parts mailed individually to Kai, as to prolong the suffering.

Apparently, Kai cared for Luhan more than he thought, and within moments of receiving the picture, he had already gathered his weapons and was heading to the address provided. He did not bring his gang, for he felt this was something he needed to face alone. When Kai arrived at the abandoned apartment building, he was surprised to see that the man holding Luhan hostage was none other than the man who had spared his life thirteen years ago. "So, I see our brave little warrior has grown up, huh? I wonder, will you be braver now, or were you braver then?" He asked, eyes twinkling in cold laughter.

"Shut up. I came; let Luhan go now."

"Oh no, I don't think so. You think I'd really let him go that easily? Do you know how hard it is to find your weak spot? It took me lots of money and even more time." The man smirked as Kai's eyes hardened. Kai pulled out a gun and the man opposing him calmly pointed his own gun at Luhan's head. Kai's eyes widened and he dropped his hand. "Aww. So the big bad Kai is scared someone will hurt his itty bitty baby Luhan, eh?" Luhan's eyes widened in fear, and he shook his head at Kai. Go, he wanted to say. Go back and live your life. I'll be fine. Kai shook his head no. He had already lost his family and everybody who cared for him; he didn't want to lose Luhan too. Luhan, the only other person who had shown even an ounce of kindness to him for no apparent reason. His lips unconsciously curved up into a tiny smile. Spotting the man's bemused facial expression, Kai immediately let his smile drop.

"What do you want? Kill me if you like, just let him go." The man shook his head. 

"How about... since both of you are here... I shoot him first, and you can watch him suffer, and then I'll shoot you and he can watch you die before he does. How's that?" The man chuckled cruelly and moved his gun down to shoot Luhan in the thigh. Luhan groaned in pain, and immediately Kai was by his side. 

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, trying to stop the flow of blood. Luhan's eyes brightened despite the pain he was feeling and he turned to Kai with a happy smile on his face.

"You spoke to me!" He pointed out in excitement, eyes twinkling like a child's. Kai rolled his eyes and smiled. "YOU SMILED!!! I can't believe you actually smiled!" If not for his leg injury, Kai was sure Luhan would be bouncing around the room like a puppy. 

"Okay, okay. Enough affection time, guys. You make me want to throw up." The two looked up at the man with the gun, and this time, he shot Luhan square in the chest. Luhan's breathing lessened, and he struggled to take more breaths.

"Luhan! Luhan hyung! Are you okay? Tell me you're okay, please?" In that instant, Kai felt the same as the lost little Jongin, the innocent boy whose family had been murdered right in front of him. And now, he was watching an absolute stranger, but someone he cared about nonetheless, die.

Luhan smiled a last, tiny smile, and spoke. "I've always wanted you to call me hyung, you know. I've always wanted you to recognize me. Too bad it's when I'm about to leave that you say this." He smiled wistfully. "There's a lot of questions I know you want to ask Jongin-ah, but I bet the one answer you want the most is to know why I'm always so nice to you." Luhan took another shaky breath and Jongin started sniffling, his fingers digging into Luhan's chest, as if stopping the flow of blood could save his life. "I believe, Jongin, that a smile can cure anything. I believe that a smile can erase all painful memories, and that with a smile you can start anew. You don't know me, Jongin-ah, but I'm your older brother. Half, at least. Your mother was my mother." Luhan smiled at Jongin's shocked expression. "I've been watching over you for these past few years in the hopes that maybe, with a few smiles, you could forget your horrible past and look into a brighter future. I love you, Jongin. You're my baby brother, and I'd do anything to protect you. Even give up my own life." And just like that, Jongin's newly discovered brother, albeit half, died in his arms. His words echoed in Jongin's ears. 

Blinded by fury and anger, Kai turned around and shot the man who was responsible for the complete obliteration of his family. "I. ing. Hate. You," he spat, punctuating each word with another gunshot. Once finished, he threw his gun down before looking back one last time in disgust at the man flailing in his own blood. And, picking up his brother's broken body, Jongin walked out the building, not once looking back. He walked and walked, not caring how far, not caring how long it would take. Jongin walked until he reached a peaceful meadow, filled with bright flowers that reminded him of Luhan's smiles. He whispered in his brother's ear, "I love you too, hyung." Holding the gun up to his own head, he closed his eyes and smiled. "To a brighter future... with you."

Bang.