“! Seunghyun! He figured out how to open the window!! Don't you have a master control on the windows?! Can't you close it and lock the controls?!?” Jiyong's voice cracked, he had turned around in the front passenger seat of Seunghyun's car, trying his best to pull a very eager Daesung back inside. He had stuck his head out as far as the seatbelt would allow him, sticking his tongue out while smiling from ear to ear, letting the air his face as it rushed by. “Well, if I close it now, I'd probably decapitate him.. we don't want that now, do we?” Seunghyun answered calmly, smirking at his hysteria. Jiyong didn't find it funny, not funny at all! He didn't understand how Seunghyun was so calm. At the speed they were going, he couldn't think of a scenario where this didn't end badly. What if another car passed them and was driving a little too close, they could snap the head right off him!

Jiyong was already nervous being in a car, after the accident he preferred every other mode of transportation, walking being the best choice. But since they couldn't very well walk home with all the groceries, not mentioning the time it would take, Seunghyun convinced him that a car ride was the only option and that since someone had to actually drive the car, leaving Seunghyun home with Daesung was out of the question. No matter how hard it was for Jiyong to admit it, everything Seunghyun had said was the truth and there was no arguing with it.

Grudgingly he got Seunghyun to help wrestle Daesung to the floor to force him into some clothes. He didn't think the folks at the supermarket would appreciate the avant guard fashion statement Daesung was making with his backwards boxers that weren't even pulled up high enough to cover his buttcrack. Sure, it was a nice buttcrack, but still. He figured people just weren't ready for this kind of genius. Daesung misunderstood and thought they were playing some kind of game and that it was his job to either try to escape or at least not be still for more than a nanosecond, getting bonus points for every piece of clothing he managed to remove once they had finally got it on.

It wouldn't go on the top 5 list of Jiyong's most enjoyable games ever, that was for sure. In the end, one had to hold him down while the other one dressed him, Daesung screeching and chuckling the whole time. It was a good sign that he trusted them enough to think this was actually a game. How far he had come in such a short while. That kid was something else, Jiyong thought.

“Daesungie... hey, you little psycho cutie!” Jiyong pulled on his sweater, but it was no use. Daesung was having the time of his life, experiencing the world in fast forward for the first time in his life. Jiyong wasn't even sure he could hear him. “Come on, let him have some fun, will ya...” Seunghyun didn't share his worries at all, thinking this whole situation was a joke. It wouldn't be a joke when someone got hurt. But if it was Daesung, he wasn't sure Seunghyun would even care. If Daesung disappeared that would solve all of his problems, wouldn't it? So maybe Seunghyun was wishing for him to get hurt, so they would have no choice but to bring him to a hospital and hand him over to the authorities. No. Seunghyun wouldn't do that, would he? Nah, he always acted tougher than he really was. Deep down inside he was a good person, but he also didn't have much patience for problems that he didn't think should be any of his concern.

As soon as they pulled into a parking space, Jiyong gathered his stuff and got ready to jump out. “Okay, so I'll be like 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops!” he said as he opened the door. He was half way out of the car when he could feel something latch onto the back of his jacket and before he realized what was happening, he was back in his seat. He looked over at Seunghyun, his face filled with question marks. Seunghyun had this intense look in his eyes, like he was a trained assassin on a mission.

“Are you insane!? What are you going to do if you come back to a bloodbath? You go to open the door, but there is blood spatter on the window. As you open it with trembling hands, an ominous knot forming in your stomach, you can see me sprawled out with a huge laceration on my neck, blood everywhere. A precision bite meant to kill. I had bled out in seconds, there was nothing you could have done. You hear a low growling sound and look up. There is Daesung in the backseat, all covered in fresh dark red blood, chewing on my forearm like an overexcited puppy with his first bone. Oh, he that had looked so innocent and benevolent. Turns out he's a vicious predator instead. There was nothing you could have done.” Seunghyun concluded dramatically, and then added, “Nothing, except for NOT LEAVING ME ALONE WITH THAT MONSTER!! So yeah, then I'm dead and it's all your fault. Is that what you want?”.

Jiyong glanced back at Daesung. One of his hands was so tangled up in his seat belt that he could hardly move it, but it didn't seem to bother him much. He was perfectly content, half sitting, half lying, cozily chewing on his new tennis ball. Apparently a bit spent after all the excitement his first car ride had entailed. Jiyong shuddered as the drool waterfall in making reached the leather bolster and reminded himself never to let Daesung near any objects that were dear to him.

He was so awfully cute though. A ray of sunshine hit one of his eyebrows, lighting it up like its hairs were made of actual gold. His teeth almost sparkled in the light, they were surprisingly white after a life in the wild. Well, once he had managed to get Daesung to let him brush them. He had the most endearing little grin. His teeth weren't all super straight and super whitened like was the fashion these days. They were natural and had character, making his smile all the more charming, enchanting even. It had this way of luring you in, making you care, making you feel you were part of it, snaking its way into your heart where it would light a little candle that was impossible to put out, the stubborn fire burning bright enough to scare the darkness away.

How could someone have left such a beautiful boy out to die in the forest? Jiyong got mad just thinking about it. No matter from what angle he tried to approach the matter, he couldn't find a good enough reason not to hate his parents. What would have been his fate had he not been so unlucky to be born to such devilish creatures? He looked like the kind of person that would be able to conquer the world one step at a time, and not dictator style but with the people's cooperation. Bringing everyone together, making a better, brighter world.

Jiyong shook his head slightly, trying to get those thoughts of hope and optimistic anticipation to lose their grip on his mind. It felt weird. It wasn't his style. He was more into spotting the flaws in the fabric of life, obsessing and agonizing over them. Polishing what could be fixed into shining perfection, and turning his back on the rest, the lost cases, the painful reminders that life had a mind of its own, that it was out of his hands. He didn't like the feeling of losing control, the feeling that nothing was for sure, that in one tick of that smallest of clock hands everything he had worked for could be taken away from him, swept away without a second thought and there was nothing he could do about it, nothing he could do to prevent it. That was why he preferred the simple life, there were less variables to worry about.

Daesung hiccuped, startling himself, making this overly cute squeaking sound. Jiyong snorted, “Yeah, THAT is what I'm worried about in this situation, that the car will be the scene of a grim bloodbath.. mhm, my worry number 1..”. Jiyong's tone screamed sarcasm. “Seriously, look at him!”. Seunghyun turned his head to get a better look at Daesung, who had returned to the important business of chewing his ball after getting over the great hiccup incident. He could see Seunghyun's face soften for a split second. “Oh, I don't trust that angel face.” he said in a jaded tone, his face back to its normal armored self. 

“No, we're coming with you.” Seunghyun concluded decisively. “Dude! Daesung can't walk with his leg like that. And even if he wasn't injured, I'm not sure he can walk normally, upright like... well, like a human I mean... and what will people think? He's not used to being around people and we have no way to anticipate his reaction. What do we do if he has a fit in the store?!” Jiyong could feel he had a strong case, Seunghyun had to back down. “We'll just get a shopping cart and drive him around, people will just think he's retarded or something. He has to learn how to be around people sooner or later anyway. You can't keep him isolated forever, you know.” Seunghyun crossed his arms. Man, not the arms, Jiyong thought. That meant the conversation was over in Seunghyun's eyes and there was nothing one could do to change his mind once he had decided.

“Okay, fine!” Jiyong spat out, a tiny bit irritated since he thought Seunghyun was being irrational and overly stubborn. “But if something goes wrong, it's on you! Five minutes ago you weren't going to let me spend one second alone in the cabin with him because he was an unpredictable wild animal, and now you want to expose hundreds of people to him, that's a complete 180° if there ever was one!” he grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah, you can nag on the way, let's get a cart.” Seunghyun sent him one of his famous winks. Jiyong was powerless against them, melting instantly.