9

“You really think they’re taking people again?”

Hoya drove up to the side of the building, the gates quiet and no lights were on.

“Icheyon Pharmaceuticals,” he muttered.

Woohyun frowned, “It’s not the giant crystal castle.”

“Nor the dark realms,” Dongwoo sighed. “It’s worse.”

“That’s what the guy said,” Hoya huffs, looking over and the sun was rising. “You really think…?”

“I believe it,” Woohyun sharply frowned, his hands gripping the seats badly. Dongwoo put a hand to his shoulder, but he wouldn’t relax.

“Dongwoo, how much time till class starts?” Hoya put the engine into drive.

“Three hours.”

“Let’s get breakfast first, alright?”

“Sure,” Dongwoo turned to Woohyun, who had his teeth grit together and a harsh angered frown on his face.

It’s not just organs they want in there.

*

“Teenage girls are 40% extra!”

“Well then let’s be sure to grab them.”

**

A year and a half ago, or rather now, two years ago; there was a prominent group called the Black Jackets. They had matching jackets, as the name suggests, with their own charms. A hood, another studded, buttoned, zipper, four pockets, and collared. All adorned with black and never zipped or buttoned up; with whatever shoes they wanted.

Kim Sunggyu, he was the leader. Who gathered his friend from childhood, Dongwoo, in a stupid conversation.

And this was far before that night.

“Say,” Sunggyu threw another can to the side, burping and sighing as the fizz from the soda slowly receded down his throat. “You think I can beat them?”

“What now?” Dongwoo sighed, looking to the discarded can with a frown. “Stop littering.”

“Huh,” Sunggyu snorted, his tattered gloved hands shoving back into his jeans. He growled, hungry and out of cash, looking at his jeans that were also ripped from the last fight. “Tsk.”

“Tick your tongue all you want, it won’t bring food,” Dongwoo hit his back.

Though Sunggyu continued snorting, actually he held one nostril down with a finger and shot out a snot rocket. Dongwoo winced with disgust, “Ah, I can breathe now.”

“Gross, Sunggyu,” he shook his head. “Second year of highschool and you’re so nasty. What will the first years say?”

“They can my for all I care,” is what he had said, “I asked you something and you didn’t answer.”

“Well I don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I said ‘you think I can beat them?’”

“Beat who?”

“Those.”

Sunggyu nodded his head to a bunch of other highschoolers, crouched in an alleyway and desperately trying to the life out of rolled lined paper and the remnants of thrown cigarette buds crammed inside. That last puff. And they had red bandannas on their heads, sleeves, and in the pocket.

“Don’t,” Dongwoo frowned, seeing Sunggyu’s finger twitch. “I’m serious, Sunggyu. Don’t.”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” his friend leered, kicking off the railing they were sitting on in some abandoned lot.

“Those are Red Streaks!” Dongwoo hissed, but Sunggyu was already stalking towards them. “Idiot…”

“Sup.”

Great, Sunggyu. Award winning greeting. Now you should introduce yourself so they can remember and destroy you!

“Huh?” the boy turned. No older than he was, and sniffed roughly, spitting whatever bile he stored in his mouth to the side. “What do you want?”

“A bunch of nothings smoking from the little left over from cigarette buds,” Sunggyu scoffed. “There’s nothing I would want from you.”

“What?” one stood, nearly coming over to him to whatever is his ‘worse’ when a friend stopped him.

“It’s not worth it,” he looked Sunggyu up and down. “A whimsy fling won’t do you good.”

“Maybe a good will,” the fourth of the five students stood. “I’ve had a dry streak.”

“Or maybe you’re just so ugly that you can’t win the ladies over,” Sunggyu grins like he’s won every damn crane machine in the arcade when the five other boys start snarling at him. “What, can’t beat a pretty boy?”

“I damn well can strip one,” a beanie spat, looming over him. Yet it was just height, not buff. “Watch your mouth, .”

“A wad like you can’t even be honored with seeing more than my neck,” Sunggyu’s smirk grows. “Now, if you five can beat me, I’ll give you a little show. Whatcha say?”

“I say, you!”

He swiftly dodges a punch, ducking from another and then takes one to the stomach. Sunggyu laughs, looking at the one who punched him in the gut and gave him a good fistful to the cheek, making sure to smack those teeth back into his throat as another boy hit his back with a kick. He felt someone knock his arm and he turned, taking that momentum to stick out his leg and jab a guy on the knee. He fell and a boy quickly jumped on him, hissing out his curses and threats. But Sunggyu growled back with his own stream of insults, kneeing him in the groin and flipping him off.

Struggling to stand, he huffs. Three down, one quickly standing back up, and two coming at him. Smiling, he throws a punch to something, hitting some skin and then draws back to keep punching. Next he knows, one guy lunges at him. Knocking the wind out of his lungs as he sees his friend falling back with a bloody nose and one other standing. Taking quick steps over as the beanie guy held him down by the wrists. His knees digging into Sunggyu’s thighs.

“Think you can take five guys?” the one standing spits and Sunggyu bared his teeth. “Maybe we’ll take that offer about the show.”

“You will do none of that.”

The one standing is punched away, so hard that he flys back and rolls. Knocking the other three back to the ground. Then Sunggyu watches as the guy holding him down was kicked away, body hitting the building wall and sinking down.

“Thanks Dongwoo,” Sunggyu kicked up to his stance, but he faltered and nearly fell if not for the alleyway wall. “Nice to know you got my back.”

“God what lie am I supposed to say to Hyemi now?” Dongwoo grits through his teeth, helping Sunggyu sling his arm over his shoulders. Helping his friend walk, “You’re a big idiot, you know that?”

“Seems to be what my teachers tell me,” Sunggyu laughs. So carefree that Dongwoo wouldn’t have even thought of the other had just gotten into a fight. Which he started.

“No,” he sighed, walking out of the alley with careless steps and Sunggyu wasn’t making it easier with his tilting.

“No? I am smart?” Sunggyu rings with laughter, so much he clutches his stomach in pain. God, that was a bad hit he got.

“No,” Dongwoo shook his head, “I answered. No, you can’t beat them.”

Sunggyu blinked at his friend, then laughing airily. Slapping his friend’s back and sighing, “Thanks for telling me now.”

“You deserve it.”

Sunggyu continually got into fights with small clusters of different colours. There were people called the Blue Necks, the Yellow Shards, the Black Wasps; but he beat them (more like argued with them and got half beat and then Dongwoo hitting the rest away with life ending punches) and they’d slink back into the shadows. One group, however, always stuck around. And they were the Red Streaks.

“Can I help?”

Sunggyu looked at the middle schooler, so naïve and dumb. “No.”

“What, why?!” the young boy yelped at him, his voice not even developed fully yet. He took in the other’s appearance. Tattered clothes ripped everywhere and stained with dirt. Either those were tomato sauce stains or his blood dribbled near his collar.

“What the ? No, kid.” Sunggyu grimaced, going back to drinking his soda. “. Shoo shoo.”

Dongwoo laughed beside him, “Don’t mind him. He’s just a party pooper,” he smiled to the young boy. “And you are?”

“Mir!” he beamed, so satisfied with his pseudo name, he had leaned onto his umbrella with the brightest smile. 

“Tsk,” Sunggyu clicked with his lips above the soda can. “I don’t need a kid who thinks his roleplay character is him in real life.”

“I don’t role play anymore!” Mir pouted. “But I have a killer jab! I can help you.”

“You better get the away before I end your life,” Sunggyu hissed. “I don’t need a kid following me.”

“I think it’s rather nice,” Dongwoo patted Mir’s head. “A fresh voice and away from this nasty hamster for once.”

“What’d you call me?”

“Nice to meet you, Mir. I’m Dongwoo,” he smiled. “Let’s be friends, hm?”

“Ok, Dongwoo-sunbaenim!”

Sunggyu just glared at the distance, clicking his tongue, “I don’t want a kid following us, Dongwoo.”

“He’s not following,” Dongwoo had laughed. “He’s a friend now.”

“Let’s be friends, Kim Sunggyu-sunbaenim!”

“God, why me,” he groaned.

He hadn’t known he was gaining reputation. He was just beating up people so he can take their lunch money, the neighborhood bully. Who picks on other bullies. Maybe he was an awesome version of Robin Hood, but gives the money to himself (and Dongwoo but he doesn’t admit that). For a while, he’s been having full lunches with Dongwoo.

“Sunggyu! Hey, Sunggyu!”

He opened his eyes slowly, the glare from the sun ruining his sight and he groaned, “What, Dongwoo?”

“Mir brought people!”

That got him up, as Sunggyu gruffly snorted and sat up. Scratching his head to see the younger smiling sheepishly as some lithe boy stood in front of him. His leg bent and a hand at his hip, sass like. And the other stood like a stone, blank.

“They just moved in!” Mir smiled. “This is my friend, Sungjong~ and that’s his bro Howon.”

“Hello,” Sungjong smiled politely. “Are you Sunggyu-sunbaenim? I heard a lot about you from Mir.”

“Mir…” Sunggyu growled. The younger quickly waved his hands and promised he hadn’t said anything wrong. ‘I just talked about how cool you were!’ Bull.

“Can we join you?” Howon asked without much character. It was so bland, Sunggyu grimaced.

“Join what?” Sunggyu snorted. “Join me? I’m not anything.”

“That’s true, uh…” Dongwoo bit his lip. “Ho….How? Hoya? Did you say your name is Hoya?”

The other finally broke that stoned face and looked at Dongwoo with comically wide eyes. Sunggyu thought he looked like a baby and Sungjong burst with laughter alongside Mir. “Oh my god, hyung! Look at your face!”

“S-sorry!” Dongwoo stood up from the park bench, trying to bow at the younger with a sheepish grin. “I hadn’t heard your name right, haha.”

“It’s fine,” Howon had nodded, calming that facial expression and Sungjong straightened with surprise. “Hoya is fine. I don’t mind.”

“Hoya…” Dongwoo tapped his chin, bursting with a grin. “Hello, Hoya!”

“Nice,” the other smiles, just breaks a smile. “The name’s Howon, but I’ll take Hoya.”

“I’m Dongwoo! And that grumpy is Sunggyu! Let’s be friends!”

“Stop making friends!” Sunggyu groaned, falling back into the grass.

Mir laughs, “It’s okay. He’s like that. We’re all friends even if he says that sort of thing!”

Sunggyu scoffs, “What are you joining? There is nothing to join!”

There weren’t any more full lunches with just two anymore. Howon had joined, and thank god Sungjong and Mir were still in middle school.

“Again? What the heck are you guys doing?!”

Sungyeol. Grade, middle school. He was a tall, lanky, in puberty boy who had remnants of ache (like they all did) dot his face. He was kneeled in front of Sunggyu, pulling out a shard of glass as the older boy hissed.

“Careful, I gotta strut with these you know,” Sunggyu talked about his thighs. “They don’t stay like this with sitting.”

“Hurry up,” Hoya groaned at his side, glass stuck in his hands. “This stings.”

Turns out he was an even worse potty mouth than Sunggyu. But Dongwoo was cleaning that up nicely.

Sungyeol dabbed the wound with a cotton bud soaked with disinfectants and immediately Sunggyu in a breath, grinding his teeth together, “F-.”

“That’s what you get,” Sungyeol rolled his eyes at the bloody cotton ball as he put it aside in a plastic bag and got more to press at the wound with ointments and medicine, binding it all with gauze. “What were you guys doing?”

“Messing around,” Sungjong smiled in the back with Mir, the two sipping at soda.

“More like getting thrown through a ing window,” Hoya clenched his teeth as Sungyeol started at his hands. “All. Sunggyu’s. Stupid. Fault.”

“My fault?” Sunggyu frowned (pouted) from his side of the couch, his thigh drugstore bound but it was good enough. Hospitals cost too much and they were just kids, the adults would ask too many questions. “You were the one who wanted to go in first!”

“But you—“ Hoya hissed as a shard was pulled out, “You had provoked them with stupid words.”

“Both of you are dumb,” Dongwoo laughed, watching the interaction. It was always those two getting hurt. Getting out of hand with fire in their eyes, wanting to clash fists and draw blood. Dongwoo calmly taught Sungjong and Mir that’s exactly what not to do in their situations. Although he’s never seen Sunggyu engage in conversations as easily as with Hoya before, not even himself. It was a nice change (even if their conversations were filled with ridicule and ‘ing’ as a dominate adjective). “Always fighting fire with fire. Idiots, really.”

“I know you are, but what am I?” Sunggyu snorted. “God, I need a pop.”

“Me too,” Hoya muttered.

“You can’t even drink it all in one go,” Sunggyu turned to him, smirking. “What a boy.”

“Whatever!” Hoya yelled back, kicking the couch with his heels in pain as Sungyeol dabbed the disinfectant on him. “!”

“Howon is just a young boy,” Sunggyu would go one, whirling his finger in the air and smirking at him. “Can’t even chug a simple soda.”

“You always give me like the fizziest one!”

“Child’s play.”

Dongwoo’s father suddenly said he’d open a shop near the big BIG cinema. It was a great location but he had got it on whim. Dongwoo’s mother had flipped multiple tables with the mortgage and debt they were in now, but the family was still pulling bright smiles and hefty laughter.

“Why don’t you open a restaurant and café store? Just do both.”

Dongwoo’s mouth hung open, the straw for his juice box falling since he liked to bite it and tug until the end was barely in the box.

“What? Why are you staring at me like I’m some head?” Sunggyu scoffs, snapping open a soda and chugging the entire thing in a go. When he was done, he burped per usual and his lips, “That pang is good.”

“Still don’t get how you do that,” Hoya frowns in distaste to his own skill, only drinking a third of the soda before having to cough or burp whatever bubbles/gas that shoved down his throat. He watched with mild amusement as Sunggyu stuck his tongue out, aiming for the trashcan a bit away on the roof. When he threw it, it clanked nowhere near the can and the older sighed. “Much skill.”

“I don’t need Ho-sass right now,” Sunggyu sniffed, wiping whatever on his ripped and tattered glove. (This now was missing the finger parts so it only covered his palm)

“Restaurant and café?” Dongwoo sputtered. “Do you know that we need permits and stuff to serve, let alone make food? Then get people to make sure it’s edible, hell; my dad barely knows anything to make other than omelets and cake!”

“Who cares about t