“Only the best get in, and you’re one of them.”

Daesung smiled slyly and walked through the doors, taking in the sight of a fogged, heated room and the scent of sweat and smoke.  Oh, it was beautiful.  He was so excited to take all of the best down and show them that even if he was young, he could be in this too.

“You’ll be in this room, sir.  We’ll give you the lowest of the best, to test your skills, then work you higher.”

He nodded to the man before he left and looked around the room as the door closed.  Three amateurs and one’s wife, typical.  He walked and sat, taking out anything in his pockets and sitting it beside him, including all of the money he had on him.

“Alright.”  The smaller voice of his own spoke softly before he cleared it.  “Let’s dig in.”  Daesung let the grin rip onto his face and he took the cards, dealing them well and letting the rest see that he was not cheating.  He didn’t need to cheat of course, because everyone else was.

Being a little younger and knowing all this had its advantages.  People thought less of you, thought you were stupid, didn’t think you knew everything.  So they just blatantly cheated, swapping decks, hiding cards.  All Daesung had to do was deal them right and know by the look in their eyes.  He had gotten so good at playing fair, he almost forgot how to cheat without getting caught.  Almost.

Over the next week, Daesung had plowed through the ‘best’s multiple times and got bored, laying back and playing with the card in his hand while waiting for something to do.  He hadn’t been offered to the best of the best but with how bad the others were, he wasn’t sure what they considered "best" around here.

Two weeks later, he was ready to leave for another big gambling house, fed up with the same pathetic losers day in and day out.

“Tell me how long you’ll stay if I get you a game with him.”  His assistant asked as he packed his things.

“Depends on what goes down.”  Daesung muttered before sitting his bag on the desk.  “And if I get it in the next half-hour.”

To say the least, he was walking down a corridor in a matter of minutes, being instructed on what to do and what not to do.  He didn’t really listen, he’d be staying in this room next anyways.

The door opened and Daesung entered, taking in the smell of coffee and smoke.

“I told you I didn’t want to play right now.”  The deep voice rumbled from the desk chair as smoked curled from the round shape of the back of his head.

“The boy wants to play one game before he leaves.”

He sounded old, got up and stood tall, but his face was hidden.  He reached into his drawer and pulled out a pack of silver cards.

“Sir, go easy on him, he hasn’t played anyone better than-”

“I’ve seen him before, he’s good enough.”

When the light lit up his face, Daesung almost passed out.

Being gay hadn’t been part of his life goals but he was.  Being a gambler wasn’t part of his life goals, but he did it.  Daesung hated that he almost wanted to cancel this game, just so he wouldn’t be embarrassed for getting a hard-on just by looking at the man.  His features were definitely indescribable in his state but he will say that he filled his pants well.

Daesung was so happy to sit, watching the other reach the cards over.

“You deal, so I don’t cheat.”

Daesung smirked a little and started to split and shuffle and everything, making sure no cheating was able to happen.

They played.  For hours.  But neither would win.  Both playing by the rules, the game was getting no where.  Until Daesung got the worse cards in the world.  He had to use something.  Finally, a good turn in this game.

Daesung used the classic hidden card trick, watching as the latter did the same.  He used another method than Daesung but he didn’t mind.

Soon they were throwing cheats here and there, not caring that they were blatantly obvious.  But in the end, Daesung chipped in all his money, waiting as the latter did the same.

Daesung watched his face.  He was very handsome and oh-so-appealing.  His cheekbones were high and his cheeks dented into dimples.  His eyes were round and narrow at the same time, holding a piercing stare with glaring potential.

But without the latter paying attention, the older man slapped his cards down.

“Six points.”

Daesung looked down at his cards.  , five points.  He gave his best smirk and was about to throw his cards down when he saw the other’s cards, which held ten points.

“Pay attention during a game, Loverboy.”  The man stood and ran a finger down his overly sized nose.  “It pays.”  With soft press at the tip, he started walking off, his men entering and collecting the money he won.  Daesung sighed and stood.

"Guys, leave his money, I had fun playing him.  First challenge I've had in a long time."

"Just his money, sir?"

"No, all of it."

Daesung looked up to see the man lighting yet another cigarette, sitting down in his desk chair.

"I don't need money."  Daesung commented before walking out the door behind him.  He hadn't put that much in anyways.

"Hey, Loverboy!"  The man called to him who usually lead him around.

"Get the taxi ready, and don't call me that."

Sitting in the cab to the airport, he thought about all the nicknames he'd obtained.  Easy, Wise Headed, Sugar-coated Tazza, Big Nose.  Never had he once been called Loverboy, or anything close to it.  Was he just playing with him, was he trying to make him feel a different way?  Daesung couldn't comprehend it.  As he walked to the waiting area, ticket in hand, he smiled, thinking about the way the man tried to pay him pity money.

"You should smile like that more often."  That familiar deep voice erupted beside him as he jumped a good foot up and three feet away.  A laugh rattled the man's body as Daesung gained composure.

"What do you want?"  Daesung kept walking, trying not to take care about the man beside him at the moment and trying to see if his flight was set to leave.

"I wanted to talk to you and see if you wouldn't mind staying but I guess it's too late for that."  The man replied as he mentioned the tickets in the boy's hand.  "But this is what I came to give you."  He held up a paper bag with what Daesung knew exactly: Money.

"I told you I don't want your damn pity money."  Daesung shoved the bag away and walked faster away, hoping he would leave him alone.

"Loverboy!  I'll leave it here for you!  If you don't want it, someone else will pick it up!"

Daesung waited around the corner, making sure no one picked the bag up.  Someone walked by, looked at it, and decided to approach.  Just as Daesung was going to pick it up before he got there, the older man entered and smacked the latter.

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