Inequality

Chapter 27 – Squabbling

“Sorry.”

Akari shook her head and the soft smile was still on her face and Chen sighed. She's so pretty when she's happy. I just wish... I wish I could keep her happy all the time.

“It's-”

“NOONA.” V shouted. Akari and Chen turned to see V running up to them and she looked at him confused. V was out of breath and he managed, after suffering so much from trying to breathe properly, to say, “Tao hyung... Tao hyung and Dongjun hyung, they're fighting.”

“What?”

“I don't know what happened! It came out of no where, Kookie and I were learning about comics with Tao hyung, and all of the sudden, when we ran into Dongjun hyung, Tao just attacked him!”

Chen and V exchanged glances and Chen inwardly groaned. That stupid boy is always so headstrong. What is he thinking?!

Akari's eyes flickered to silver and Chen saw it, that familiar pose she did every time she seemed worried. Her hands were clasped over the center of her chest and she closed her eyes, as though trying to sense them and V mumbled, “They're at the training grounds. I don't know what Dongjun hyung was do-”

V didn't finish his sentence as Akari teleported away and Chen asked V, “What happened?”

“Tao hyung... I think he's mad at Dongjun hyung for not telling Akari anything.”

Chen's eyes flashed with anger and V took a step back, and he mumbled, “Jungkook and I tried to talk him out of it.”

“Hey, doesn't it bother you that you're keeping a secret from Akari though?” Tao asked. Jungkook and V glanced at each other and they nodded in unison and V said, “Yeah, but... I can't.”

“But why? All of you have already suffered enough... isn't it better to just be open about it? Keeping a secret as big as this one... it'll cause even more pain than necessary, wouldn't you rather have her know now than to let her find out later?”

The two younger males lowered their gaze and they said, “Regardless, we know how she'll react.”

Tao frowned, “But...”

Tao didn't understand, in a team, everything was about trust, and when there were secrets, the outcome was always horrible.

“I don't understand him. He's acting like a coward. If he truly loved Akari, he wouldn't be hiding the fact that he's dying from her.” Tao shook his head disapprovingly and he continued, “Akari deserves to know. She's already faced so much, already suffered so much, already lost so much, and now she's going to lose Dongjun?”

The two younger ones didn't speak and Tao continued, “Didn't Dongjun say they were inseparable? If Akari suddenly, out of the middle of no where, hears that Dongjun is dying, on the day that he was going to die, but then figures out that we knew the entire time, she'll despise us all. She'll lose trust in all of us. Trust that she worked so hard to build because she couldn't even trust herself.”

“But hyung...”

“There are no buts. Don't you get it? Akari needs to know. She's hurting. She... If I was Dongjun, I wouldn't be so cowardly as to hide it from her, I'd just tell her myself!”

“Please hyung, don't mention anything to her... Akari noona... she...”

They didn't finish their sentence, for when they looked up, Tao was already gone from his position next to them. Jungkook looked forward and a small gasp escaped his lips and he shouted, “TAO HYUNG DON'T.”

“KIM DONGJUN!”

Chen was being flown over with V and Chen mumbled, “Stupid Huang Zhi Tao.”

“Hyung... I think you need to lose weight,” V complained. Chen glanced up and he mumbled, “Of all times to tell me I'm fat. Grow some muscles V, you're just scrawny.”

V pouted and whined, “Akari noona's thin, how come I'm still weaker than her?”

Chen laughed. Being around V was like a ball of eccentricity, nothing made sense, yet everything did at the same time, the mood was always changing, yet the boy could take things seriously.

“You don't have muscles. Now hurry up, the last thing we want is Akari to kill the both of them.”

*****

Akari landed at the edge of the training field where she spotted Kris and Luhan. The two older males glanced over at her and Kris said, “You don't know either then.”

She shook her head and Luhan said, “They're in the center of the field... I had Xiumin block everything off with ice, but...”

They all glanced around, it was literally a box of ice without a lid. Dongjun and Tao were going at it in the center of the field. Just behind them, Jungkook was helping Xiumin fortify the defense as they kept denting the ice.

“Why did they start fighting...?” Akari mumbled. She stepped forward, but Kris' arm extended out in front of her, preventing her from going forward and he said, “Don't. Tao needs to learn.”

“He could die, Kris.” Akari hissed. Her eyes were flashing silver, bordering gold, and Luhan exchanged quick glances with Kris. They knew now what Dongjun said was true.

“Dongjun can restrain himself.”

Akari looked at the two in the distance worriedly, and she could feel it, Dongjun's energy level was stable whereas Tao was already feeling the effects of the lack of stamina.

Dongjun stood there, unfazed and he asked, “Why are we fighting?”

Tao didn't answer and instead got back into a fighting stance, he was light on his feet as he bounced back and forth and Dongjun merely stood there like a statue. Suddenly, it was extremely sudden for anyone unadjusted to lightning speed movement, Tao launched forward and was in front of Dongjun. His arm was pulled back, his hand balled into a fist, but when the hand moved forward, Tao met air.

Dongjun stood behind him and he said, “You need to keep an eye on your surroundings.”

As sudden as that, Tao was sent flying across the field, rolling across the grass and Dongjun was casually brushing the dust off his hands and then suddenly Dongjun was moving swiftly across the field. He caught up to the rolling Tao and swiftly kicked him in the gut, sending Tao flying straight into the ice.

“You're telling me I'm being a coward?” Dongjun hissed. His voice was loud enough for everyone in the area to hear, including the hovering V and Chen just above them as V tried veering them towards the side lines. Tao slid down the ice and back onto solid ground and he growled, “Yes. You're a coward. If you truly love someone, you'd do everything in your power to protect them and the future with them. You-”

“You're too ignorant of the world you live in,” Dongjun snapped. Akari froze as she watched it, his eyes had changed to that light blue that spoke of one power that he swore he'd never use again.

“No.” Akari mumbled. She shot forward as soon as Dongjun rose his hand and he continued, “You don't know what it feels like to know that your life is coming to an end and having to come to terms with it. Knowing that when you die, the person you love the most will also end up facing the same fate as you. The reason why I chose this path was so I can protect her.”

Akari felt herself face a wall as V and Chen landed and pushed her back to the sidelines. She tried to fight them off, but V was using his element against her as well and she complained, “Taehyung! Let. Me. Go.”

V shook his head and he said, “I can't let you go out there noona.”

Akari heard the despair in his voice and her eyes widened and were back to the original brown color and she asked, “Why?”

“SO DYING IS HOW YOU'LL PROTECT HER?!” Tao shouted. Akari looked up at him, her mind in a jumble and it finally clicked. They had assumed she didn't know, but she figured it out years ago. Ever since Dongjun was reassigned to her.

Stop. Please. Akari's heart was crying, but no tears were shed in reality and she looked between the two males fighting in the distance. I have to stop them. Or Dongjun...