The next time Nam Soon met Jung Ho it was by pure chance. On his way home after school he’d spotted the other boy on the street and called out to him.

Nam Soon strode over as Jung Ho spun around at the sound of his name, groaning when he realised who it was. “What?” He asked sharply.

Nam Soon looked him over. There was a faint bruise on his jaw and he looked fidgety, like there’s somewhere he has to be. His eyes shot a quick glance down the fairly busy street the way he’d been walking, and Nam Soon looked too. He didn’t see anything though. Nothing more than normal people going about their business, anyway.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, looking away from a child making grabby hands towards a shop window and bringing his focus back to Jung Ho.

“That’s got nothing to do with you,” Jung Ho snapped back. His eyes continued darting down the street at irregular intervals.

“Are you meeting someone?” Nam Soon continued, undeterred by Jung Ho’s harsh demeanour.

“Still not any of your business,” Jung Ho snapped, teeth grit in frustration. He looked down the road again.

Nam Soon looked too. There was still nothing out of the ordinary. The kid’s mother was dragging her away, causing the kid to begin wailing at an impressive volume. A teenage boy pulled out an iPod to drown out the sound, a passing schoolgirl gave him an appreciative once-over. Certainly nothing that would cause anxiety. Nam Soon turned back to his classmate. “Are you meeting someone?” He asked again.

Jung Ho huffed with vexation, clearly irritated with Nam Soon’s presence. “Look,” said he forcefully, “I’m just going to work, okay? Does that meet your ing approval, you ? Am I allowed to earn money or would you rather I sit at home and knit?”

“Well, I do hear hobbies help relieve stress,” Nam Soon grinned, completely unconcerned that he was the only one getting any enjoyment from this little quarrel. Jung Ho really is so easy to piss off. “And if knitting’s your thing… well, who am I to judge?”

Jung Ho practically emitted aggravation, Nam Soon could almost feel it in the air. The younger boy went to snap back, but his eye caught something and his mouth closed at considerable speed. Immediately catching on to the sudden tension and the change in the atmosphere Nam Soon followed Jung Ho’s gaze, all joking falling away. He may have been playing around a little, but he was serious about helping Jung Ho out, especially if he’d gotten himself into trouble again.

There was no guessing needed as to what, or rather who, caught Jung Ho’s attention.

Two men were walking in their direction, and they don’t look pleasant.

“Answer honestly,” Nam Soon said, calm and serious, eyes never leaving the approaching men. “Did you get back in with those gangsters?”

Jung Ho didn’t answer. Completely blanking Nam Soon he stepped away, heading for the men.

Nam Soon stayed where he was, watching closely. They were out of hearing distance when the three met, but he watched as one of them said something. The other spoke into his mobile as Jung Ho nodded, but with his back to Nam Soon there was no way for him to know if Jung Ho spoke to them.

They headed back up the street and Nam Soon followed, keeping the same distance between them. He didn’t want to arouse suspicion; if these were the same guys they wouldn’t be happy to see him. Nor did he want to allow them to think that Jung Ho’s connected to him in some way.

On the corner of the street a car pulled up and Jung Ho was guided towards it, a hand on his lower back in what could have been seen as a friendly gesture if one didn’t take the time to notice how tense Jung Ho was. Nam Soon sped up into a jog, dodging past people – one older woman giving him a dirty look when he almost stepped her ridiculously small dog - to catch up. He wasn’t going to get there in time though and the street had too many people milling about to run, he’d just end up crashing into someone. He could only watch as Jung Ho glanced at him one last time, face a picture of controlled emotion – a forced clam. Then he got in the backseat, the two men joining. The door slammed shut and the car pulled out on to the road.

Nam Soon came to a stop, hands on his thighs, and watched as the car was quickly swallowed up in Seoul’s traffic. It was gone in a matter of seconds.

“Aish, Oh Jung Ho, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” He questioned the empty air, his only reply the chatter of pedestrians and the impatient honking of a car horn the next street over.

He pursed his lips, wondering what he should do. It would be pointless trying to find the car; it could be anywhere, and there must be thousands of cars that look just like that one all over the city.

What to do? Perhaps Ji Hoon or Yi Kyung could know something. It was worth a shot, so Nam Soon pulled out his phone, scrolled down and hit dial on Yi Kyung’s name.

Five rings later Yi Kyung’s familiar voice answered.

“Do you know anything about Jung Ho’s new job?” He got straight to the point, still looking out at where the car disappeared.

“What? Err, this is Nam Soon-ssi, yeah?” Yi Kyung’s voice was a little static over the phone, but his confusion was clear.

“Yes,” He confirmed, short and to the point. “So do you?”

“A job?” Yi Kyung sounded hesitant as he thought it over. “I dunno. I haven’t spoken to him for a while, he’s not answering my calls – or Ji Hoon’s. I didn’t even know he has a job.”

Nam Soon sighed. ‘Great, that’s a big help,’ he thought to himself with no small amount of sarcasm.

“Is he in some sort of trouble?” Yi Kyung asked and Nam Soon could hear worry building in his voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Nam Soon replied. “He just took off with some dodgy guys and he didn’t look happy about it.”

Yi Kyung cursed. “Should we look for him? Do you know where he is?”

Nam Soon shrugged, regardless of the fact Yi Kyung couldn’t see it. “He could be anywhere, there’s no point searching.” There’s no way they’d find him; Seoul isn’t exactly a small place. They’d be better off waiting somewhere they know he’d be later.

“What? We can’t leave him!” Yi Kyung said, aghast. “I’ll phone Ji Hoon and we-”

“Yah, Lee Yi Kyung-ah,” Nam Soon interrupted him. “You won’t find him. Just wait at his house until he returns or something.”

Yi Kyung began to protest, but Nam Soon cut him off again. “It’s a guaranteed way of finding him. You’re no good to him if you’re on the other side of the city from him. Just phone Ji Hoon, I’m hanging up. You can call me if you need me.”

Then he ended the call. Immediately he went back to his contact list and dialled a second number.

“Yah, Heung Soo-ya, where are you?” He asked as soon as the call was picked up.

“At the park with Pororo,” came the quick reply. Nam Soon heard the telltale sound of a dog barking in the background. “Why?”

“I think Jung Ho’s gotten himself in to more .”

Heung Soo sighed heavily, the sound loud and clear in Nam Soon’s ear. “And you’re going to fix it again?”

“Nope,” he corrected, and a small grin formed at the thought of Heung Soo’s frustration. He began walking, heading in the direction of the park. “We are. You said you want in after last time, so you are.”

“Aish, only to stop you getting hurt!” And there was that frustration. Nam Soon held back a chuckle at the predictable reaction. “Seriously Nam Soonie-ah, can’t we just leave him to it?”

“No.” He determined resolutely, stubborn in his decision. “Now tell me exactly where you are.”

Heung Soo muttered something unintelligible under his breath, most of it drowned out by another series of barking. “Aish, go chase a stick or something!” Heung Soo told off his dog before addressing Nam Soon again, “near that bench with the broken backrest.”

“Alright,” Nam Soon said, “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

“Yeah, okay. Bye.”

Not at all put off by Heung Soo’s less than enthusiastic demeanour Nam Soon pocketed his phone when he heard the dial tone and picked up his pace.

Fifteen minutes later he arrived at the park and quickly located Heung Soo. However, he stopped to watch before going over or alerting Heung Soo to his arrival. Pororo was running circles around him, bounding around as Heung Soo gave chase, stopping and allowing Heung Soo to get close, then dashing off again at the last possible moment, Heung Soo’s fingers mere inches from him. Whether Heung Soo was playing or trying to get Pororo under control Nam Soon had no idea, but the dog was certainly having a great time.

Nam Soon laughed as Pororo charged over to Heung Soo, then veered off sharply to the side when Heung Soo tried to grab him, tail going a mile a minute and tongue lolling. Heung Soo turned to face the dog and Nam Soon caught the bright smile on his face.

Seeing it formed a soft smile of his own, and a blanket of warmth somewhere in his chest cavity. It was nice to see Heung Soo like this, just messing around freely. It had been far too long, and Nam Soon hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it until this moment.

He stayed as a silent observer for the next few minutes, but it soon ended when Pororo caught sight of him and barked happily, loping over to him on long legs. Heung Soo looked to see what had gotten his dogs attention and waved when he saw Nam Soon. Nam Soon waved back and walked along the grass towards him, but was stopped when Pororo reached him first. The large dog jumped up, paws on his shoulders and slobbering over his face. Nam Soon would have pushed him down, but the sudden heavy weight caused him to stumble backwards and his arms automatically wrapped around the dog for balance, who unfortunately took it as a signal for even more enthusiastic .

As soon as he got his feet back under him and steady on the ground he pushed the dog down, wiping away the drool with his sleeve. Bloody dog.

Heung Soo strode over to meet them, chuckling at Nam Soon’s affronted expression. Nam Soon pointed at the dog. “You need to teach him some manners.”

Heung Soo just rubbed Pororo behind the ears while calling him a good boy and Nam Soon rolled his eyes, letting it drop. He could put up with a doggy drool bath every now and again when the mutt made Heung Soo happy.

Speaking of the dog, he was a little curious. “You never did say how exactly you got him, just that he followed you.”

Pororo dropped on to his back, kicking a leg for attention and Heung Soo crouched down to give him a belly rub. “It was three days after moving here,” Heung Soo said, looking up at Nam Soon from the dog. “I was just wandering around the area and picked up a canine shadow, I didn’t even notice him right away. I tried chasing him off at first and he backed away, but, well…” Heung Soo looked away, embarrassment hinting at his cheeks, “one of his legs was hurt. I felt bad for him being all alone with an injured leg, cause, you know…” Nam Soon nodded. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and joined Heung Soo at his level, resting one hand on the dog and another on Heung Soo’s arm. He held back the ‘sorry’ that bubbled its way up to his lips – it’s not what Heung Soo was looking for or wanted, not again.

Heung Soo cleared his throat and continued. “So I brought him home. Noona wasn’t very happy ‘cause he wasn’t toilet trained or anything, and he kept chewing her shoes.” He chuckled a little gruffly and Nam Soon grinned too. He remembered one time when he and Heung Soo were ten and they accidently ruined a pair of Soo Min’s shoes; she never forgave them for that, even when they saved up to replace them in a bid to sooth her wrath.

He patted the dog but kept him eyes on Heung Soo. “So how did he win her over?”

“There’s some girl she really hates, I don’t understand why, some weird girl thing,” Heung Soo shrugged. They got to their feet as Pororo decided he’d had enough belly rubbing and darted off after a squirrel, barking like mad as the rodent scampered up a tree like it had the hounds of Hell after it. They watched with amusement as Pororo tried his hardest to reach it, jumping about at the base of the tree and trying in vain to climb it. Nam Soon vaguely wondered what the rodents fate would be if it fell. Nothing pretty, he imagined. He looked back to Heung Soo when he continued. “Whatever-her-name-was came 'round one day, no idea what for, and Pororo scared the out of her. I think she was scared of dogs, and he was really unsocial then, not really used to people, you know? He doesn’t like meeting people for the first time, so he was growling and tried to jump on her. She ran off crying and noona has liked him ever since.”

Nam Soon laughed, picturing Soo Min’s triumphant look at her victory; looking on smugly as her rival sobbed. It was a pretty accurate thought; Nam Soon knows firsthand how fierce she can be. It seemed to be a family trait. Heung Soo’s mum had a similar ferociousness when it came to protecting her kids in the days before her illness drained her of her strength. She’d even come to care for Nam Soon like that; there were a few times when she’d even confronted Nam Soon’s father when he’d go on pub crawls, leaving a young Nam Soon alone for days with no money or adult care. She was an unassuming woman for sure, but not one to be trifled with.

A pang shot to Nam Soon’s heart. He missed her. He knew Heung Soo’s mother better than he ever knew his own.

He pulled himself away from his thoughts when Pororo trotted back over, having given up on getting the squirrel.

“Maybe next time,” Heung Soo consoled, patting the dog. “Anyway, Nam Soon-ah, what happened with Oh Jung Ho?”

Nam Soon blinked. How had he forgotten about Jung Ho so easily?

“Right. Well, I ran into him a few minutes before I called you, he was really twitchy, then some gangster-looking blokes came and took him away in a car.”

“Right…” Heung Soo said sceptically, “and you want us to fix his problems. Again.”

It was more a statement than question, but Nam Soon nodded regardless. “Yep.”

Heung Soo pulled a face, obvious for the world to see how distasteful he found the idea. “You know he wouldn’t do the same for you, right?”

“I know,” Nam Soon replied with a small shrug. It didn’t really matter what Jung Ho would do in their situation, at least it doesn’t matter to Nam Soon. “I just think we should make up a little for all the we did before.”

Heung Soo scoffed, looking away to his dog who was now sniffing a small pile of leaves. “Sounds tedious.”

Nam Soon wasn’t fooled though, he could see a little hint of guilt in Heung Soo’s eyes. Nam Soon sincerely doubted that Heung Soo felt even close to the level of regret Nam Soon feels for their past actions (well not all of them, Nam Soon is far removed from a damn saint, but as for the people who didn‘t deserve what he, they, did too them he felt ashamed) but Heung Soo defiantly wasn’t feeling guilt free, you’d have to be a real heartless for that.

So he decided not to say any more on the subject, he knows Heung Soo well, so he knows he’ll help.

Pororo ran over with an overlarge stick (it was probably more accurate to describe it as being like a mini tree branch), half dragging it along the ground with a self-satisfied air about himself. It was a great moment breaker and Nam Soon took it, grabbing hold of the stick and trying to tug it away from the dog. Pororo held fast, jaws clamped tight, pulling back, a low growl grumbling out from his throat, instigating a game of tug of war.

Perhaps as revenge for having him run about all over earlier, Heung Soo helped Nam Soon out by sneaking up on the distracted dog and poking him in the side. Ganged up on and surprised, Pororo didn’t take long to drop the stick and Nam Soon pulled it away from the canine with relish. The dog’s face when he realised he’d lost was hilarious, ‘awww’ inducing with the big sad brown eyes, sure, but it was mostly funny.

He held it high above his head when Pororo jumped to get it. Unfortunately for Nam Soon Pororo hadn’t magically shrunk at all while he and Heung Soo were talking, and so it was only a last second evasive move that prevented large teeth from snapping over the wood – and very likely Nam Soon’s hand in the process.

With an embarrassingly unmanly squeak at his unwanted close up of the dog’s teeth he threw the stick over to Heung Soo. Heung Soo caught it and Pororo went charging, but he went right by him and circled around without pause when Heung Soo threw it back to Nam Soon.

It became a game; Pororo stuck it the middle, trying with all his might to get the stick by jumping into the air, speeding ever faster towards them, and even bending his head down and trying the pitiful look. That one almost got them, but as soon as they hesitated he sprung into action with all sharp teeth and lean muscle, so they continued on, leaving the dog to try harder.

Eventually he did catch it, tail wagging furiously at his achievement. He quickly scampered off to avoid being teased any more. Nam Soon and Heung Soo watched him go with identical grins.

Nam Soon’s stomach growled. He gave Heung Soo a beaming smile. “Ramen?”

His stomach made itself known again and Heung Soo chuckled fondly. “Okay, but we’ll need to take Pororo back on the way.”

Nam Soon agreed and then they spent the next ten minutes trying and failing to catch said dog. He was determined not to leave the park. Eventually Heung Soo managed to get his lead on while Nam Soon pinned him in place, and they left the grass for a path.

As they were walking a voice shouted out and the two halted, the dog stopping a moment later when the lead length ran out.

“Yah! Go Nam Soon and Park Heung Soo? Is that you?”

It was familiar, but Nam Soon couldn’t place it, at least not without a visual. He and Heung Soo turned, curiosity morphing to antagonism the moment they rested eyes on the guy. Oh, Nam Soon definitely recognised him then. Lee Shin Dae. What that was that bastard doing here? Nam Soon’s eyes narrowed, nose upturning in disgust of the little worm. He hadn’t forgotten what Heung Soo told him, about the rumours this bastard spread around back in Gyeonggi-do.

“Yah!” He snapped, temper shot the moment he laid eyes on him. His voice was not loud enough to be coincided a shout, but it held a sharpness that did nothing to belie his anger. He stalked over, getting up close, purposefully intimidating. He grabbed the bastard by his T-shirt. Lee tried to yank his hands away, eyes going wide, but Nam Soon didn’t let him go. “You little , what’s with those rumours, huh?!” He hit Lee over the head, hard enough to send his head swinging to the side. “You think you can say stuff like that?!”

Heung Soo strolled over causally, hands in his pockets, stopping a couple feet from them. Pororo followed. The dog watched Nam Soon and Lee with a keen eye.

Lee’s eyes darted between Nam Soon and Heung Soo, his too long hair falling over his rat-like face. “H-hey, come on,” he said nervously. “That was years ago. It was just a little joke.”

A little joke? Recent memories flashed by Nam Soon’s mind, memories like the one of that kid from before, saying Nam Soon beat Heung Soo. He thought of Heung Soo breaking down crying after kissing him for the first time, confessing his pain. This bastard, Lee Shin Dae, he added to Heung Soo’s pain. He tried to humiliate him and pour salt into an open wound. Nam Soon hates him for that, he wants Lee to suffer as much as Heung Soo has. He wants to kick him into the dirt and leave him to fester, because that’s all he deserves.

He jabbed a fist into Lee’s stomach, fast and strong, causing his ex-classmate to bend over double, the oxygen forcefully expelled from his lungs.

He wasn’t done though. He grabbed Lee hard, fingers intentionally digging as painfully as possible into the bastard’s shoulders, keeping him on his feet. Lee’s position was perfect for Nam Soon to bring a knee up, smashing it into his face with a loud crunch.

Lee cried out a satisfying wail of pain and Nam Soon only grinned at the sound. Blood pumping he kneed Lee again, this time letting go of his shoulders and watching him crumble to the ground.

Blood was pouring from his face and his breath was ragged. The sight made Nam Soon feel a little better, but not by much. He kicked him in the chest, foot connecting with ribs, and Lee fell backwards with the force, hitting his head as he landed, hair falling into his face again, matting with the blood. Yeah, definitely a nice sight.

Lee shuffled back, coughing with a rattling sound. A snort of amusement came from beside Nam Soon, and distracted from Lee he looked at Heung Soo. Heung Soo, who’s eyes were bright with mirth as he watched, a pleased, vicious, almost excited smirk stretching his lips.

Nam Soon stopped. This wasn’t right, it’s not what he wanted. That wasn’t a look he wanted to see on Heung Soo’s face, not again. He’d promised to put this life behind him, behind them both.

He forced a deep breath into his lungs. Heung Soo really was still caught up in Tsunami. He hadn’t truly moved on. He enjoyed this; watching Nam Soon beat up Lee. Even after what Nam Soon had done to him in this sort of state he still lit up when Tsunami let loose.

“,” Nam Soon muttered to himself. This isn’t what he wanted, this isn’t what he should be doing. Reality started to form around him and his temper died down; he took in everything. They were in a public park in broad daylight. There were people around, people watching, white-faced and horrified. A woman was on her mobile, frightened, and Nam Soon didn’t doubt for a moment that she was calling the police.

He cast a glance to Lee, who was still on his back, hands covering his face, a pathetic sound of mixed moans and tears falling ugly from his lips. He merely spared him nothing more than a once over; he may regret losing control, but that was because he didn’t like Heung Soo’s reaction, not at all. The bastard Lee still deserved what he got.

The police were coming, that’s what he had to concentrate on right then. He grabbed Heung Soo by the arm, surprising him, and began to run, pulling Heung Soo – and in turn Pororo – along as he broke out into a run.

They ran, the world passing by in a rushed blur of colour and emotion. He couldn’t let Heung Soo get arrested. It didn’t matter that he didn’t do anything; just being there would be enough for the police. They wouldn’t care for some punk kid with a record for violence. Having been arrested before too Nam Soon probably wouldn’t get off with just a slap on the wrist this time either. No, they had to get away. He had to get Heung Soo away. That was all that was important. He could only hope Lee wouldn’t send the cops round knocking at his door.

There was always a code to their life (past life, Nam Soon forcefully reminded himself); and that was that all problems were sorted out between themselves, cops were never brought into it. Lee knows this, but he’s so much of a spineless coward Nam Soon could easily picture him hiding behind the law, too pathetic to deal with it himself. A little boy standing tall behind others.

, Nam Soon shouldn’t have done anything. He should have just kept on walking. Goddamn his ing temper. His irascibility was gonna land him in a -ton of trouble one of these days, and he could only hope that it won’t be in his immediate future.

They ran as far as they could to Nam Soon’s, until Heung Soo's leg wouldn't allow him to continue and they had to walk. Nam Soon’s nerves were jittered all night, he constantly expected a knock on his door from the police.

It was an uneasy night. The dog settled down on the sofa, Nam Soon and Heung Soo in the spare room. However, while they both eventually drifted off Nam Soon was kept awake with the image of Heung Soo’s dark delight seared into the back of his eyelids.