Chapter 5

Woohyun

It feels like slow motion.

How there are screams all of sudden, people running away from us.

I want to run with them. But there are three weapons in front pointing at me. And I think two behind me, but I'm not scared that Sungyeol and Myungsoo will shot me. Or maybe they will... I don't know how Sungyeol copes with stress...

" WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Just his booming voice that echoes through the alley and I'm back to where I just left.

Sunggyu...

I turn to him. He's furious. He will hurt his hands if he clenches them any tighter.  I don't like that part of him. He scares me, even though I know he will never ever do something to the ones he loves.

But it works. He was born to be a leader and the strangers feel it. They pause and slowly lower their guns, just like Myungsoo and Sungyeol.

" Woohyun." Sunggyu reaches out for me and I stumble over to him.

" Someone mind to explain me what the hell is going on?", he asks when I'm next to him and slightly tug his shirt. " Myungsoo? Sungyeol?"

" Hey, boy.", one of the giants calls over to Sunggyu. " Mind leaving our business to us?"

Wrong choice of words.

He winces slightly when Sunggyus death glare hits him.

" Sunggyu..." I whisper and try to hold him back. Seems like I spoke louder than expected because when I look back at them shock is written all over their faces.

" Sunggyu... Kim Sunggyu?" One of them says.

He looks at his partner with wide eyes. " He's  from the Kim Clan."

Sunggyu starts massaging the bridge of his nose. " We should have stayed at home."

" Yes. Instead of making such a commission on open stre--"

" SHUT THE UP!" he hisses at Jiho and turns back to the others. " Anyone wants to explain?"

They stare at each other in silence.

" Okay... here goes nothing."

When he moves closer they noticeable shrink, even Myungsoo and Sungyeol.

I stay at my place. He wouldn't want me to interfere.

How much I hate all of this. The street was a place filled with life and laughter and now it's empty and I'm pretty sure the police will show up soon.  I want all of them to rest and to have fun. I want them to enjoy at least a few hours before they go back into their by their own choice chosen world, made out of fear and death and all those things I want to protect them from.

I retreat slowly until my back hits the wall of the building behind me.

Sunggyu keeps talking with them... which might be him yelling at them to be more precisely.

He looks the best when he smiles... doesn't he know?

I notice the other group of people only when they walk out of another alley.

What is it tonight...

There's that brown haired guy. He walks proudly, in such a way as Sunggyu does, but there's a smile on his face when Sunggyu would just furrow. He doesn't waste his smile on scum, he always says.

A few men follow him, one of them pushing a man in a wheelchair.

"Stay here." The obvious leader tells the man in the wheelchair.

They stop next to me as if I would mean no harm which is the truth but they don't know.

" You belong to him?" The man in the wheelchair asks with a slow and almost flabby voice.

I look down at him.

He died his hair blonde.

It suits him.

" You mean the one with the small eyes?"

"Yes."

" Yeah... you belong to the one who talks to him right now?" I can't understand what Sunggyu says but his expression became only darker when he notices the mans face.

" Kind of. He says he's my boyfriend."

" He's not?"

"He is...it's a little complicated.", he looks at the the guy who wheeled him over. " Give us some privacy."

For a minute we just stay there, looking at the spectacle in front of us. Sunggyu keeps discussing with the boy, the strangers who followed Sungyeol and Myungsoo long forgotten, and even Jiho, who tries to get into the conversation over and over again is ignored.

" You're from the Kim Clan."

I laugh quietly. " It always sounds so stupid."

" I know what you mean. ", Blondie nods at the guy he came with. " It's the same with him. He's a Cho."

Cho... something inside me seems to remember the name but I can't catch where I heard it before.

"We're some kind of rivals on the market."

" Oh... really?" I say unimpressed.

"Kyuhyun doesn't like it when lower clans appear in his area. So he came over as soon as possible when his men told him about the ruckus here. Who would have thought he'd meet a Kim."

" He's called Kyuhyun?"

"Yes. Doesn't sound that intimidating, right?"

"No... as much as Sunggyu."

Finally he seems to smile a little.

I push my hands in the pockets of my trousers and slightly touch his wheelchair with the tip of my shoe. " How did you end up in there?"

" You just ask about it?"

" Was it impolite?"

"No...people just tend to act like they don't see it. They think that they'd make me feel uncomfortable. It's worse when they only look at me with pity in their eyes.."

Kyuhyun and Sunggyu went a few steps away from the others.

I catch Sunggyus gaze for a moment. I lift my hand to reassure him I'm alright. When he sees it he turns his attention back to Kyuhyun.

"A few years ago I went out with Kyuhyun. Some kind of easy business. In the end it was an ambush. A bullet hit my backbone. I survived but ended up in here."

" What's your name?"

"Sungmin."

" That's definitely , Sungmin. I'm Woohyun." I reach out for him and we shake hands.

After that we grow silent again.

" What do you think they are alking about?" I ask after a while.

He shrugs. " Most probably just exchanging nice words. It's not like they will shoot each other. Both clans lived alongside for too long."

"Hopefully. I'm tired of all of this."

"You're tired?"

"Of course. I hate it being like this. I wished I could change it. Going far away maybe... I never knew things like this existed- until I met Sunggyu. You know... all those things... clans... wars...Maybe I should have never seen it."

I don't mean it.

I never want to leave him.

It's he moment that put the words into my mouth.

Sungmin nods slowly. " Okay..."

"Sungmin. Lets go." While we were busy with talking they finished their conversation.

" Seems like we have to part now.", I push myself off the wall, a friendly smile on my lips. " Maybe we have the chance to meet each other again."

"Woohyun." Sunggyu says. 

I look over for a second.  Jiho and the other guys disappeared to somewhere.

" Seems like the big boss is calling me."

Sungmin is strangely quiet.

I think for a moment.

"Woohyun!"

"Yes! Just a second!"

I pull out my mobile. " We can exchange numbers if you want to."

"I...", he looks down. "... don't have a mobile."

"Oh..."

" Woohyun. We're going. The police is close." Sunggyu grabs my wrist before I can say another word to.

"But..."

Sunggyu pulls me away. We cross Kyuhyuns path when he guides me away from Sungmin. He gazes at me for a second before he passes by.  I wave at the boy in the wheelchair, knowing that Sunggyu won't stop until we're somewhere safe.

" I only want to go back home." Sunggyu mumbles, seemingly tired.

"What did you talk about?"

" Later."

" Just a second!" Kyuhyuns voice from behind.

Sunggyu pauses and I almost stumble against his back.

" What do you want?" he asks not the least bit friendly.

Kyuhyun comes closer.  His presence gives me the chills. I don't dare to look at him. His next words hit me like a bullet.

" Sungmin.", I can feel his hand on my shoulder a moment later. " He wants him."

I haven't seen Sunggyu that dumbfounded in a long while. But who am I to speak? I might look the same.

Sunggyu gathers himself again a few seconds later. " You got to be kidding me.", with one smooth motion he pushes Kyuhyuns hand from my shoulder. " Keep your hands off."

My gaze wanders to Sungmin. I want to say something but the boy keeps looking to the ground.

" Sungmins request are not something I can easily brush away."

"Well. This time you have to.", Sunggyu answers with that cold voice of his and finally pulls me away." Come on, Woohyun."

"This is not settled yet, Kim Sunggyu!" Kyuhyun yells after us.

Then we walk around the corner and they vanished out of our sight.

"Woohyun! Faster!"

I follow him, more stumbling than walking and the grip around my wrist slowly starts to hurt. Somewhere behind me I can sense the presence of Myungsoo and Sungyeol. They have kept quiet since Sunggyu has pulled me with him after he had a fit and yelled profanities at the stoic boy named Kyuhyun. He pulled out his phone after we walked around the first corner and soon some of his men he told not to follow us on our date appear out of nowhere and follow us like shadows since then.

"Wants to have you?!" Sunggyu yells angrily to nowhere and passing by people hurriedly move out of his way.

I try to apologize to them but he pulls me further. " Sunggyu... please..." I try to get through to him but he keeps ignoring my quiet begging.

" Please... it hurts...Let go."

"Keep going." he takes a glance over his shoulder as if he's afraid of them following us. He is doing it for me, I know. But nevertheless, when he talks to me with those harsh words something inside me explodes.

" Sunggyu!", I break away from him. " It's not my fault we ran into them! Just like it's not my fault we ran into the psycho in the wheelchair! Did I start all of this?! Why are you getting angry at me when I only wanted to see this ing market?!"

"Woohyun..." he stops in his tracks, his hand still reaching out for me.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Everyone is quiet and I use the overall confusion to stomp away.

Someone follows me.

" I told you to leave me alone." I press through gritted teeth, not even looking at who follows me. It's him. Who else would it be? He is not someone to leave the other person in a fight. He knows about the things he tends to do wrong and he doesn't have a problem with apologizing. Not many people know because there aren't many who honestly tell him when he ed things up.

I never had a problem with it.

" Woohyun. Wait."

I'm not good with his begging voice. It always gets to me.

" What?" I snap at him.

I slowly stop. He reaches me a second  later, circles his arms around me and pulls me into his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"Hmm..."

" I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Slowly my anger vanishes. I walked too fast, I breath heavily. " At least you realized your mistakes."

" I always do."

" And why do you always have to make  the same mistakes again?"

" Because I turn into an idiot when it's about you.", his warm breath on my neck. " First that prosecutor tonight. Then those guys who dared to point a weapon at you. And now this guy. This is too much for me to handle. You know how worried I am all the time."

I don't know what to say. So I just settle with leaning more into his embrace. " You must be tired."

He nods slowly.

"I'm sure he already forgot about it."

" I hope."

" Your such a crybaby, Mr. Kim."

"Only for you."

"My crybaby.", I take one of his hands,  press a soft kiss on it and let my lips linger for a bit longer.. " I love you."

Maybe we should have talked about it more.

But we just brushed it away in our attempt to keep the apparent peace up.

I regret...

He regrets the most.

Flashback end

OOO

" Sit down for a moment."

I didn't realise Sunggyu moved me to his room until I sit at the comfortable bed.

I nervously ruffle my hair. " I'm so sorry..."

He stands in front of me. " Why are you sorry?"

"I keep giving you trouble." I try to smile but I fail miserably.

" Were you afraid?"

I nod and reach out for him automatically. I don't have to ask twice when he walks into my embrace. I hug him tightly and press my cheek to his stomach.

" When you think about it it's actually quiet funny how they... tried to take me on the street." I mumble and feel how he tenses. But instead of exploding he stays in my embrace, softly caressing my back. " Let me take care of it."

"Maybe they already left."

"They came here from Busan. I don't think they'll leave that easily."

I bite my cheek. " How much must he love Sungmin to do this for him?"

" How lonely must that Sungmin guy be to ask for something like that. Think about it. Do you need someone else when there's me?"

I don't even have to think twice before I shake my head. I lift my gaze and look at him. " As long as your there I'm alright. Because I love you the most."

A warm smile spreads on his lips. He bends down and kisses me softly. " And that's why I won't  let them lay a finger on you just because they have problems. I'll take care of them, I promise."