Chapter Ten: Lust

                Lust n

                               ual desire: the strong physical desire to have with somebody,

                               usually without associated feelings of love or affection 

---o0o---

                During the evening a few weeks ago, when Myung-soo and Angel went to have a movie party with Sung-yeol and Sung-jong, the four had a discussion about what movie were they supposed to watch. Angel just looked at the others while they argue whether to watch Transformers or Ghost.

                “Sung-yeol hyung!” Sung-jong said, “Just keep that CD of yours and let us just watch Ghost!”

                “Aniya! You’re not supposed to watch movies like that at your age!” Sung-yeol said while trying to reach the CD from Sung-jong’s hand.

                “Hyung! Why are you worrying so much?” Sung-jong stood up the couch and held the CD up and away from his tall hyung. “Are you worried about the thing? Hyung! We’re boys… and we’re not  that young! We understand the meaning of true love and love making!”

                “Yah! You’re still young!” Sung-yeol said. “I know, why don’t we ask Angel about his opinion?”

                “Me?” Angel said, “Well, love making is a sacred endeavor and it should only be done by people bonded by the holy matrimony. As long as that movie portrays it with true, pure and chaste love, then it is fine with me.”

                Sung-yeol sighed. “Fine, we’ll watch it after we watch Transformers, Arasso?”

---o0o---

                Myung-soo opened the house’s door and quickly shut the door behind him. He sighed because at least, even though everything that happened at school was so stressful, he made it home without any knife pointed at his neck or a gun muzzle against his head or a truck slamming against the bus he boarded.

                He walked into the house to find the person who could ease up the heaviness he felt in his heart – his mother. But then Myung-soo remembered that it was a weekday. His mother would be home late. Very late.

                Without his best friend and his mother, the next person he’d want to discuss problems to is Sung-gyu. That day, he wasn’t sure if he’d want to talk to Sung-gyu right away, especially about the things going on between him and Sung-jong. He wasn’t sure how Sung-gyu might react about it and there were just so many thoughts running in his mind that time.

                He went up to his room to rest. Myung-soo was sure that Sung-gyu was already home, but what he didn’t expect was the arm that quickly encircled his waist and the lips that enveloped his’.

                So this is how a kiss felt like. Myung-soo could feel heat rising from his gut. He savored the every feeling, every sensation that his first kiss gave him. They were all surreal for him, and he wished it wouldn’t end right away, but then it was the same kiss that brought him back to his senses.

                Sung-gyu nibbled on his lower lip before forcing his tongue into his mouth. At the same time, Myung-soo was pushed to a wall and the arms that encircled his waist before started exploring the skin underneath his school uniform. That moment Myung-soo realized that something was wrong.

                Myung-soo pried Sung-gyu’s hands off and let go of the passionate kiss before trying to push his hyung away, but when he did, Sung-gyu’s hand came back slamming him onto the wall.

                “Go home?” Sung-gyu breathed through his teeth, “you’d talk to your best friend and you told me to go home? Just like that?” Sung-gyu grabbed the younger by the arm and threw him onto the bed before pinning his arms on either sides of his head. All the while, Myung-soo looked at Sung-gyu in utter shock.

                “Myung-soo, I hate being neglected like that,” Sung-gyu said.

                “Hyung, I’m… sorry,” Myung-soo muttered. Sung-gyu was already breathing heavily and Myung-soo could tell that he was totally upset.

                “Really?” Sung-gyu breathed on his ear, “Then prove it.” Myung-soo could feel his heart breaking into a thousand of pieces. That moment he learned that words and simple actions are not enough to prove someone that you love them and that you want them to stay. So when Sung-gyu removed his shirt and started kissing him again, Myung-soo never let out a single protest, even when everything reached to its worst.

                Myung-soo felt it all. Every pleasure, every pain. But mostly pain, as if Sung-gyu was venting out his anger on him. On his body. But the only things that escape from his mouth were gasps and a few moans, which he tried to stop from coming out, since whenever they do, Sung-gyu would do the same thing again and again until his moans become loud enough.

                “Good night,” Sung-gyu muttered.

                “Happy?”

                “Very much,” Sung-gyu said before kissing Myung-soo’s back as he pulled him to his arm. Myung-soo didn’t say anything more. He let the silence envelop them, with only the sounds of their breathing and his phone constantly ringing throughout the whole ordeal.

                After a few moments, Myung-soo heard a car engine stopping in the front lawn and the front door opening shortly after that. Myung-soo felt scared all of a sudden, although part of him wished that his mother would come up and see him that night.

                “Myung-soo, wake up,” Sung-gyu said before placing a kiss on Myung-soo’s shoulder, which woke the boy up. “I’m going to school. I already told your mother that you won’t be able to go today, so here, put some clothes on,” Sung-gyu handed him a shirt, a pair of boxers and sweat pants, “your mom might come up any minute now to check your temperature.”

                Myung-soo took the clothes that Sung-gyu was giving him, but when he tried to get up, he felt a sharp pain on his lower back that almost made him cry as he fell back on the bed. Sung-gyu came to help him clean and clothe himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his hyung.

                “I’m sorry for not warning you about this, Myung-soo,” Sung-gyu said, but Myung-soo couldn’t say anything. Particularly because he didn’t know what to say. After a few moments, his mother came knocking on the door and Sung-gyu opened it for him.

                “Baby, what happened?” Myung-soo’s mother said as she went over to feel her son’s head and neck.

                “P.E. class,” Myung-soo lied, “I enjoyed soccer yesterday… so much I had muscle pains.”

                “Is that so?” Mrs. Kim ruffled his son’s hair before saying, “I’ll just bring you some medicinal patches okay? Oh, and Angel,” Mrs. Kim turned to Sung-gyu who was standing near the door, “You should go now, or you’ll be late for your classes.”

                Sung-gyu looked at Myung-soo of a while. From his eyes, Myung-soo could see a hint of his regret. That was all that he needed. “Yes auntie, I’ll go now,” Sung-gyu said before leaving.

                After a while, Mrs. Kim left Myung-soo to go get some patches, but after a minute or so she came back, telling that they already ran out of patches. “I’ll just go to buy some patches and go for a short trip to the grocery store,” Mrs. Kim said, “I won’t be gone that long.” Suddenly the doorbell rang and Mrs. Kim went down to check who was the visitor early in the morning.

                “It’s a good thing that you came here,” Mrs. Kim said as she let Sung-jong and Dong-woo in into Myung-soo’s room. “I’m going to leave him for a while to buy some patches, would you mind if you look after him until I get back?” Normally Myung-soo would protest when his mother consider him as a child, but he didn’t that morning.

                “No auntie,” Sung-jong said, “it’s not a problem at all.” Myung-soo waited for his mother to go before he ask his friends why they were there, but as soon as his mother leaves, Sung-jong ran towards him and hugged him tight.

                “Wait, what happened?” Myung-soo said after he noticed that his best friend was sobbing while clutching his shirt tight.

                “Sung-yeol told me about his dream,” Sung-jong said, “He told me that he saw my brother, telling him about the danger you’re into. Someone named Sung-gyu might kill you…” Myung-soo was surprised to hear Sung-gyu’s real name from Sung-jong, but what surprised him more was Sung-jong’s next statement. “I don’t understand him, but Sung-yeol said that my brother specifically told him that you must remove a bracelet from that person or you’ll die…. God, Myung-soo I was so worried about you.”

                Myung-soo hugged his friend tight. When Sung-jong started to calm down, Myung-soo let go and the boy continued, “then Dong-woo told me about the dream he had last night. Dong-woo, tell him.”

                Myung-soo looked at Dong-woo, and he could see hesitation in his eyes. “Myung-soo,” Dong-woo finally started, “You might find this weird, but this is very real. It even felt very real. Yesterday, I was so tired so as soon as I arrived home, I went to my room to take a nap. I…” Dong-woo paused for a while and looked into Myung-soo’s eyes before continuing, “I dreamt that Angel hyung was you. Then I heard someone tell me clearly, ‘go, save him. Myung-soo needs you right now,’ and so when I woke up, I quickly looked for my phone to call you, but you weren’t answering any of my calls.”

                Myung-soo was shocked to hear that from Dong-woo. He didn’t want to use the word, but after it came out of Dong-woo’s lips, he felt much more pain inside of him as his realization took place. As much as Myung-soo wanted to deny it, his friend was practically right about what happened yesterday.

                “Dong-woo, tell him who told you to help him in your dream,” Sung-jong said.

                “When I looked for the voice, I found a man dressed in black, with deep, dark eyes,” Dong-woo said.

                Dark angel? Myung-soo thought, but Sung-jong said, “It was my brother.”

                “How did you know?” Myung-soo said.

                “I was so surprised with Sung-yeol hyung’s story so I took out my brother’s precious pictures and those were what Dong-woo saw when he came over early this morning.”

                “It was really him. I’m sure of it,” Dong-woo said. Sung-jong took out his wallet and opened it before handing it to Myung-soo. Myung-soo swore he felt cold after that.

                Myung-soo remembered the first time he saw Sung-jong’s brother, the dark angel. It was before the battle took place. The next was the night when he got the lock. Then the afternoon when his mother came back. Then the next, and the next. So it was Sung-jong’s brother who has been warning us all along?

                “Come! Let’s go to the police to record Angel in their blotter,” Sung-jong said before forcefully pulling up his best friend, which brought back the pain on Myung-soo’s lower back, making him cry all of a sudden.

                “Myung-soo! Kwaenjanha?” Dong-woo said.

                “Ne,” Myung-soo said, but the reaction and tone of his voice didn’t hide his discomfort.

                “Anieyo,” Sung-jong pulled off the blanket over Myung-soo and grabbed the hem of his shirt. Myung-soo quickly grabbed his hand in an attempt to stop him but it was too late. Sung-jong already figured everything out.

                “If nothing is hidden under your shirt, you’d allow me to take a look at it,” Sung-jong said. Myung-soo didn’t move because of the conflict inside his head. Whether I show it to him or not, the same will happen. He’s going to tell mom about it, and she’ll take Sung-gyu away from me. “That’s it, your mom have to know about this,” Sung-jong said before standing up and dashing to the door.

                “No! Wait!” Myung-soo sat up and tried to stop his best friend from going, but he had gone out in an instant. That moment Myung-soo felt the pain again, but this time he ignored it and tried to stand up, only to fall on the floor.

                “Myung-soo!” Dong-woo rushed to his side and helped him sit up on the floor.

                “Stop him, please Dong-woo, he couldn’t tell my mom,” Myung-soo said as tears started welling up in his eyes.

                “Myung-soo,” Dong-woo said, “I don’t know what happened, but apparently he’s been hurting you.”

                “He’s not!” Myung-soo shouted, at the same time his mother got back with Sung-jong closely following her.

                “Kim Myung-soo, take your shirt off… now!” Mrs. Kim said. When her son didn’t make a move, she then turned to the one sitting on the floor beside him. “Dong-woo, take off his shirt!” she said even louder. She looked at him threateningly and Dong-woo could do nothing but to comply.

                Dong-woo held the hem of Myung-soo’s shirt and pulled it up. What they saw underneath infuriated and broke his mother’s heart at the same time.

                “That’s it, I’m calling the police!” Mrs. Kim took out her phone and started dialing, but her son wouldn’t let her do it. Myung-soo quickly stood up and took the phone from her hand before throwing it against the wall and falling back to the floor.

                “Myung-soo! I trusted that you’d do the right thing,” Mrs. Kim said, “why are you letting this happen?”

                “Mom! He’s just jealous, that’s all!” Myung-soo said.

                “But if he truly loves you then he wouldn’t do this to you!” Mrs. Kim said, “Myung-soo, you’ve been blinded by false love, and if you – if we don’t stop this right now, it’ll kill you.” Mrs. Kim went out and left the three, and there was nothing that Myung-soo could do but to wail and wish that his Sung-gyu hyung would be back to how he was before.