Leo rounded the corner to Naebu street, realizing at once what Ravi had meant by “weird apartments.” They had a strange, almost hexagonal shape and stuck out into the street. He paused in his manic stride to take in their bizarre appearances and tried to figure out just by looking which one belonged to Jiyong, but unfortunately, all of them looked alike. The adrenaline rushing through him didn’t allow him to stop and he settled with pacing back and forth by the corner that Ravi and N had probably hidden behind, watching Hyuk buy away his life. The thought made his anger grow to the point where he couldn’t even abide by pacing. He needed to see Jiyong. He needed to look into his eyes and show that lowlife what happened to people who messed with Leo’s family.

His restless walking brought him to the entrance of an alleyway beside one of the buildings and he plowed down it without thinking. His footsteps echoed in the emptiness of the bricks surrounding him and he looked up from the ground at the sound to see where he had ended up; the walls stared down at him silently and he could only imagine the stories they could tell.

He stood stock still for a moment, feeling a shudder flow through him; it was almost like Hyuk was right there next to him

His blood suddenly ran cold at that thought and he backed up and out of the alley, turning around as fast as he could.

As he did, the door to the apartment building a few doors down slammed open and a pair of footsteps joined his in the street. Keen to avoid attention, Leo backed up so he was in the shadow of the alley and peered around the corner to see who was walking toward him. The faint light from the crescent moon and the sprinkling of stars above him fell on the guy’s face, covering it half in shadow, but the little he could see made the anger inside Leo rush up again ten times as strong.

Jiyong hadn’t changed much in the four years since Leo had last seen him. His face was still hard and rather angular, his eyebrows furrowed in a permanent scowl to match the way his thin lips were pressed together, like the world existed only for him to exploit. He had somehow become skinnier and more muscular at the same time, giving him an almost contradicting appearance that was emphasized with an oversized hoodie paired with black skinny jeans. Why do you get to live?

The dealer had his hands stuffed in his sweatshirt pocket and he was humming quietly to himself as he strolled. Like he had nothing to effing answer for. His breath, like Leo’s, rose in front of his face and might have been mistaken for smoke if not for the clean winter scent that accompanied it. He had almost reached where Leo stood, hidden from view. Just seeing Jiyong’s face after four years of remembering it brought painful images to light.

"Come on, pretty boy, cat got your tongue?” The pain as a fist punched into his stomach and he couldn’t keep in the name.

“Sanghyuk! His name is Sanghyuk!”

Jiyong’s footsteps were louder than before and Leo knew he was almost at the alley.

“What is wrong with you, Hyuk?!” He wanted to shake the younger boy until he had some sense knocked into him. “Do you realize how stupid you’re being??”

Jiyong’s face was swimming in and out of the shadows, making it difficult to see him clearly.

“Swear to me that you won’t start with drugs. Hyuk, please, I can’t lose you to that.”

“...I swear.”

The street was quiet; the only noises to be heard were Jiyong’s soft footfalls on the pavement and Leo’s quick breathing in his ears. While previously he had been unable to stand still, he now seemed incapable of moving a muscle as he heard Jiyong coming closer and closer to him.

“You got kicked out of class again, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

“So?” Hyuk looked as bothered by this statement as he did about most things—not too much.

"My GOD Hyuk,” This was the first time Ken had ever raised his voice in anger. “Will you LOOK at yourself? You’re floating on a cloud! It’s time to WAKE UP!” Leo watched from the doorway and shook his head, knowing it was useless to try to talk sense into him. He did, however, rescue the younger boy when Ken slapped him across the face.

The tip of Jiyong’s sneaker entered the darkness where Leo was standing. Without thinking, knowing that he was about to walk right by him, he stuck out his arm and grabbed the dealer’s sleeve, pulling him into the darkness of the alley where it had all started. He found himself, once again, face to face with Kwon Jiyong. The dealer was too surprised to retaliate and Leo could almost hear his heart beating quicker than most. They stood there for a moment, faces inches apart. Jiyong looked curious and slightly wary, taking in Leo’s thin frame and school uniform, evidently deciding that he wasn’t much of a threat.

Leo took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and let his slightly hoarse voice out for the first time in four years. It was like everything that had happened had led up to culminate in this moment. His eyes narrowed before his low, slightly menacing voice asked,

“Remember me?”

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Woohoo, showdown! Took me a while to figure out what Leo's first words should be, and I liked the drama of that. So hope you enjoyed and thanks for being such awesome, dedicated readers!