The Iron Man
Chasing Rabbits
Myungsoo's Pov
I was walking through the park with Ellie, looking for Batman supposedly but we where so distracted talking and having a good time together. I didn't notice I had my phone accidentally turned to silent. By the time I checked my phone I had several text messages and missed calls from Sungyeol.
"Hey." I finally answered it.
"Myungsoo! We need help. We got attacked by some guys! "
"WHAT?! Where are you?!" I asked.
We ran over there as fast as we could and tried to alert the others on our way. When we got near the site that Sungyeol told us, we saw him and Nina run towards us.
"Myungsoo!" Sungyeol said panting.
"Nina are you okay?!" Ellie attended to her friend.
"We're good but he's not." Yeol pointed towards the group of guys where Sunggyu was on the ground getting hit.
I may have been taking too long to jump into the scene. It was like for a few seconds I was shocked by it. I've had several fist fights with Sunggyu and I know first hand that he stronger than most guys. Seeing him on the ground that way made me feel somehow….how do I describe this….. Immensely ...Irritated…but why..
"Myungsoo! He's your brother! Are you going to let them kill him!" Myungsoo slapped some sense into me.
…..kill him?…... my….brother……At the worse moment I remembered the loss of my mother. I really had no other family left.
"Sunggyu is your Brother?!" Nina asked shocked.
"Go help him Myungsoo!" Ellie yelled waking me up from my shocked state. It wasn't that I didn't want to move, it was just that I was caught in some kind of trance.
I quicky ran towards the guy and kicked the guy who was about to kick Sunggyu in the head. As soon as I began fighting the other guys appeared to help. Woohyun, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungjong all started taking care of the other guys. Since they weren't expecting us, we had the upper hand now.
"Who the hell are you kids?" Some guy asked.
"Spiderman." Woohyun said before throwing a guy to the ground.
"Hahahaha Spiderman, what kind of ridiculous name is that?" The guy on the ground laughed.
"You have a problem with it?" Woohyun asked as he was about to dodge a punch from another guy but Dongwoo intercepted it. "And this is Wolverine" He said with a cocky smile before getting back to business.
"Yah Sungjong! Get Sunggyu out of here." I heard Hoya tell him. When Sungjong tried to get near however, he got attacked by more guys who seemed to have come out of nowhere. I went over to help Sungjong but I guess 5 against one wasn't gonna cut it.
Sunggyu's Pov
I was getting tired of just letting myself get punched, I did fight back several times but I was trying hard to hide my face from some of those men who I had encountered before….If these people recognize me I'm screwed. When I was almost about to pass out from the repeated kicking. I saw someone familiar come to my aid…..Myungsoo?….
I was kind of shocked to see him out of all people to be honest, but at the moment there was no time to be thinking at all. I tried getting up by myself but I struggled since they had kicked my legs too many times. When I saw that Sungjong was about to come help me and he got punched, I quickly gained energy and got up to hit one of the guys.
I was done trying to keep my punches, now I had to help them out too. I could see that Myungsoo was trying to help Sungjong too. I regained some energy to fight just from seeing the others try so hard. It all seemed like we were going to win this battle. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.
While they were busy fighting, another guy came from behind my and dragged me away from the rest of them. We went down a small hill. The guy threw me on the ground and picked me up by my collar.
"I had my suspicions, but it seems I'm not mistaken, WHO ARE YOU?!" He yelled in my face but I only spit at him as a response, of course I got punched for it. Then the guy was trying to make a phone call, while still grabbing my collar with his other hand. I was so weak I couldn't even break free from that. "You're that Batman aren't you? Ha I'm sure of it now that I'm up close. Where's your mask boy? You finally decided to reveal you pathetic face!" He said as he kicked me…again…and again until I was literally out.....dead…. Well not quite dead yet but I did pass out on the ground
….I guess this is the end of me…was my last thought before I went into a deep long sleep.
[Phone call] "Hey boss, guess who I found? Someone you've been looking for."
"Bring him."
Myungsoo's Pov
"Where is Sunggyu?!" Hoya alerted us. He disappeared while none of us noticed. "Sunggyuuuuuu." Woohyun and the guys started yelling and looking around for him……where is he….did they take him?……For the first time in a long time I felt fear.
"Myungsoo, where is Sunggyu?!" Woohyun asked me directly but I was at a loss of words. All the bad guys were on the ground now, until one of them ordered them to get out of there and they followed. "Yah! You're not going anywhere!" I grabbed the last guy that tried to run away from the scene. "Where is Sunggyu?!" I demanded an answer. "I don't know." He said.
"Guys! Follow them!" Hoya told us as they tried to exit the park. They were already too far away for any of us to catch on. Luckily, there was Sungyeol. "I'll catch them." He said as he got on his skateboard and speed down the park trail.
"SUNGGYUUUUUUUU!!"
"Yah GYUU!!" They guys were yelling and looking around the park for him.
"They took him! What are we gonna do!!" Sungjong panicked.
"Guys!! What happened?!" Ellie and Nina came out of hiding.
"They took Sunggyu! What if…they….no…." Sungjong was almost in tears.
While the guys were yelling, arguing and crying in desperation, all I could do was stand there. Thinking back what Sungyeol told me earlier ....."Myungsoo! He's your brother! Are you going to let them kill him!"..…..I quietly tighten my fist and without saying a word I ran to the direction Sungyeol had gone down on his skateboard.
I was determined to find those guys who took him. It's hard to explain why but as I was running desperately after the bad guys, small tears formed in my eyes…....what if he dies too?….I wasn't ready to accept another loss in my life. After my mother who was my only family passed away, I really thought I was alone….Even if we don't get along…we still carry the same blood don't we? …What if I can't ever punch that rich bastard again?…I couldn't stand that idea.
After several minutes of running and getting nowhere, I stopped to rest my knees. I was both panting and crying. I wanted to scream from all anger, frustration, and fear.
I couldn't see anyone anymore, the streets were empty. Shortly, Sungyeol came back and stopped in front of me. I waited for him to tell me any news. "I followed their car for a few blocks but I lost them. I'm sorry Myungsoo." Sungyeol looked defeated at first but then showed concern when he noticed my tears.
"….Myungsoo..? Are you okay…?" He asked me.
"I'm gonna go call Bob and Peter." His bodyguards….I should have done that sooner…I swallowed my tears and composed myself before I dialed the number.
"We'll be right over. Are you and everyone else safe?" They asked me and I confirmed.
As soon as I was hanging up the call, I heard Ellie's voice. "Myungsoo!" She ran from behind me and tightly hugged my back. …"Ellie…" I tried not to cry anymore in front of her. "Are you okay?" I asked trying to break the hug so I could face her.
"Yes. But you..?" She asked me. "Yes." I kind of lied but she stared at me like she knew and understood everything. She must have been confused since I never told her I had a half brother. She stared at me with teary eyes and I stared back at her and hugged her tightly one more time. It was the comforting hug that I needed. For the first time in my life, I felt like there was someone else there for me. Someone who could understand my feelings. It was a hug I did not want to break…..Ellie….I need you….. will you stay with me always? I closed my eyes and took at deep breath.
"Over here guys!" Sungyeol yelled when he noticed the rest of the guys approaching. Ellie and I immediately broke the hug.
"Yeol, did you see anything?" Hoya asked him.
"No, I followed their car for a few blocks but then lost them. I'm sure Sunggyu was in it."
"Do you remember what the car looked like?" Woohyun asked him.
"Yes, it was a black van. It didn't have any plates though. But it had a few scratches on the back. I'm sure if I see it again I can identify it." "Good, we can tell that to the police." "Should we call Bob?" Sungjong asked us. "Myungsoo already did." Yeol informed them.
Ellie's Pov
"This is my fault." Nina spoke, still shaking from the whole situation. "It's not." I told her. "Yes it is. It's because I wanted to find Batman. If it wasn't for me….." …."Don't blame yourself Nina. This was out of our control." I consoled her. "You guys need to go home." Dongwoo volunteered to take Nina and I home, while the others waited for Bob and Peter. We both refused since we wanted to help out, but the guys and Myungsoo insisted. I knew he really wasn't okay and I wanted to be with him.
"It's best that you go home where you're safe. It's so late already and I don't want anything to happen to you. Go." He softly ordered me and then looked towards Dongwoo. "I'll make sure they get there safe and be right back." Dongwoo told him and Myungsoo nodded.
Before I left I gave Myungsoo one last hug and told him, "You too be safe okay?"
He nodded and gave me a soft smile. "Let's go Nina." I broke the hug and followed Dongwoo.
It was definitely a night full of overwhelming events. I was not only worried for Sunggyu, but what I discovered was also shocking. Myungsoo and Sunggyu are brothers? That actually explains a lot. Its obvious they have a bad relationship, but I wonder why…Myungsoo never told me about him having other family other than his late mother. It must be because it hurts him.
I sighed as I laid in bed, unable to sleep.
"Ellie, Are you asleep?" Nina was next to me.
"Nope." I told her.
"I can't stop feeling guilty." She told me and immediately started crying almost uncontrollably.
"Nina, don't cry. They are gonna find him. They will also contact the police. It's gonna be okay."
"But what if they don't find him!"
"They will Nina."
"Why wasn't Batman there? You know how much I yelled for him?" She said still crying.
"He didn't show up at all. Did he really quit…or he was just somewhere else…I don't know Nina" I sighed.
The next morning Nina and I were summoned by the police to tell them anything we may have seen that could help them in their search. After that, the guys told us to meet them at Hoya's place to talk about what we were gonna do. Everybody was there, including Myungsoo. None of them had any sleep at all since they spent the whole night searching. The police had told us to wait for a ransom call since it all looked like a kidnap. Peter and Bob told us to wait and not get involved, but the guys had no intentions of listening.
"Those guys really got us good." Dongwoo commented.
"Sunggyu looked really busted…something seems off. Its so unlike him." Woohyun told us.
"I know right! You noticed too. No matter how many guys there are Gyu usually takes care of them all." Sungjong added.
"He wasn't really punching those guys back." NIna joined the conversation.
"Seriously?! Why would he do that?!" Woohyun and the rest of the guys seemed surprised.
Sungyeol's Pov
….Should I tell them why?….ah I probably should……..but Sunggyu would kill me if I did…..ah what do I do what do I say…I was panicking internally, looking around the room nervously…….The Batman thing wouldn't have anything to do with those guys would it? I mean nobody knows Sunggyu is actually Batman….Those guys wouldn't know….would they…..aish
Myungsoo's Pov
….He wasn't punching back…..why would he do that..?……..
"It doesn't make any sense." Ellie commented before Hoya finally spoke.
"You guys know Gyu hasn't been in his right mind lately. I mean you've all noticed how sulky he's been ever since his mom got transferred to the rehabilitation center and his dad has gone off the map again. He barely even argued that much anymore, like he was out of energy. You know something is wrong with him when he doesn't argue with you about stupid stuff." Hoya talked and his friends agreed.
"It's true. He hasn't been his usual naggy self." Dongwoo added.
…....his mom is in a rehab center? ….has he really not seen our dad a all? .....I thought it was just me that dad had stopped contacting…….I had no idea….No wonder that house seemed so empty…..
"He probably allowed himself to get punched because he was feeling so down." Hoya continued.
"Myungsoo….are you really brothers?" Nina asked me looking confused. Sometimess it hurts to hear the word "brother."
Since I was taking too long to respond. Hoya did for me.
"Half brothers. They have different moms. They barely even know each other though." Hoya's words seemed like an indirect jab towards me. I could feel that Hoya was speaking to me.
…..We really don't……...I seriously had no idea……I didn't know what to say…..
"Batman was no help at all last night." Sungjong changed the topic.
"Where is he when you need him, seriously." Woohyun complained.
"Should we still try and get in contact with him? He can help us find Sunggyu."
"No." I finally spoke after a long time. Everyone's attention was now on me.
"We will find him." I made a fist and fixed my gaze with determination.
"We are going to walk around the neighborhood and ask people to tell us anything they know about bad guys hangout places, what gangs are around here. We will go to convenience stores and see if we see any trace of them, gas stations too, until we find that van. We will follow it. We also need to check for abandoned buildings and old garages, any place where those gangsters could be found. We will do this until we find him." I told the rest.
"Let's do it!" Woohyun smiled and patted my back.
"Yup. We will find him for sure!" Dongwoo and the rest tried to cheer each other up.
Everybody got so excited they immediately left the place to go ask people on the streets. The last ones to leave were Hoya and me. "Thanks Myungsoo." He spoke out of the blue. I turned and gave him a confused look. "You know he always has his friends to watch his back, and any of us would do anything for Sunggyu. As he no doubt would do the same for us. But having you here, helping us search for him is different. You are his only brother." He smiled leaving me speechless again.
Ellie's Pov
I was out asking people around, but most just thought I was a stupid girl playing a joke or something. I pouted.
.....Nobody takes me seriously…..I stood outside a small shop.
"Ellie." I heard Myungsoo approach. "Why are you here alone?" he asked.
"Oh. I was with Nina but I guess she left for another store or something." I looked around.
"You must be hungry. Let's get you something to eat." Myungsoo told me and I nodded.
….I'm not really that hungry but Myungsoo must be….he didn't sleep at all either….
We got to a small noodle shop on the side of the street since they served quick. That way we could resume our search.
"You aren't eating much." I told Myungsoo. He was totally out of it.
"Hey monkey." I called him trying to cheer him up a bit, he looked up when I said that.
"Cheer up a bit." I smiled and he finally smiled back.
"Can I tell you a story?" Myungsoo told me.
"Of course! I like stories."
"One day when I was 7, I went out with my mom to play at the park. She planned a picnic for the both of us since we used to do it all the time when I was younger. At the time, my mom worked at a shop that was close to that park. She was supposed to be off but they had some kind of emergency and they needed her for a moment. So she dragged me back with her to wait at the shop while she finished working. I was so angry because I wanted to play that day. " He paused and slightly laughed as he recalled the events. "So I ran back to the park without telling my mom."
"Did you?! Did you get lost!?" I asked.
"When I got there I saw a bunch of older boys playing soccer and I wanted to join them. But I was too young for them and they started bullying me. I was too weak to defend myself at the time. Until one of the boys that was playing soccer with them started yelling. 'Yah…why are you bulling a kid thats younger than us? Leave him alone.' He told them. Then the other boys completely turned against him and started fighting with him. I remember grabbing a rock and throwing it at one of the kids to try and help him out. It was the first time I ever got into a fight." Myungsoo smiled.
"So what happened?"
"We ran away from those kids together and got lost in the park. He told me it was gonna be okay, that we were going to find our moms, he also told me that when I grow up, I should never bully others who are weaker than me. We had a good time together, until we reunited with our moms.
[Myungsoo's Flashback]
"You! Get away from my kid you fox!" The boy's mom yelled at my mom and pulled her kid away from me and then continued speaking. "What game are you trying to play right now, using your kid, telling them they're brothers so he can comeback later and take the company. Keep your bastard son away from my child!"
The boy and I were so confused. "Listen my child, don't ever let this dirty woman tell you this boy is your brother. You are NOT brothers. This lady and her son will try and do anything to take everything away from you. Including your dad. " The lady told the boy.
"If you ever refer to my child the way you're talking to me right now, I swear I don't know what I will do." My mother told that woman. She was angry like I've never seen my mom before.
"Myungsoo, this boy is your dad's son. You are half brothers," My mom explained to me.
"Shut your mouth you witch!" The lady said meanwhile the boy seemed just as confused as I was. I didn't understand why that lady was so mean to my mother.
"There is no need for insults. I already told you I want nothing to do with Myungsoo's father. I'm not asking for money or the company. I know we both made a mistake years ago…."
"This little bastard wasn't a mistake. It was all planned to….." Suddenly my mother slapped that lady hard.
"Call my child that one more time!" She yelled and they both argued for a good while until she finally left. I saw how she shoved Sunggyu in the car and slapped him really hard against the car window. Then she took out a bottle of alcohol and drove off with it.
[End of Flashback]
"Wait, so that boy was Sunggyu!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. That was the first time I found out I had a half brother. First time my mom told me anything about my dad. "
"So….did you talk to Sunggyu after that?" I asked.
"His mom would constantly come to our home to threaten us to leave the country. She feared that we were going to take her fortunes away from her. She never allowed Sunggyu and I to see each other. I never saw him again until we were teenagers. That didn't go very well."
"What do you mean?" I wanted to know everything and I'm glad Myungsoo was finally opening up about this.
"When he found out who I was he started speaking to me in the same way his mother spoke to us. He had changed."
"Well with a mother like that….she probably brainwashed him." I commented.
"Still didn't give him an excuse to insult my mother. I couldn't stand him. I still can't stand him."
"I see….but still you…." I was trying to ask carefully why he would still try and help him.
"I just don't want him dead. That's all." He confessed making me chuckle.
"Let's go find him then. So you can still kick his for being a jerk to you." I told him as we both got up to go meet the others.
Myungsoo's Pov
"Guys! Guys! We got info!" Nina and Sungyeol called us and we all met up.
"So we asked around and they told us that there is a very dangerous gang that likes to hang out inside that park at night. I think they said they called themselves pirates or something." Sungyeol explained.
"THE PIRATES?!" Ellie yelled while my eyes opened in shock.
…"Them."
...they are more than dangerous…they have the worse reputation….
"Whats that, who are they?" Nina asked confused.
Everybody else was speechless and that was because they obviously knew who they were, their faces froze.
"What's is it guys?" Nina and Sungyeol were the only ones asking.
"Its not good news, Nina." Ellie told her.
"We are gonna need more than a few fists…" I started to speak.
"We are gonna need strategy." Hoya finished my sentence.
"………and luck." Sungjong gulped in fear.
Later we all met up at Hoya's place again to begin to strategize. Woohyun as always was the first to speak.
"Well guys….Operation Rescue begins." He said as he threw a banana to each of us.
"We are gonna need to keep a good nutrition if we want to keep our brains functioning, since we are gonna need them for this. We need great thinking to outsmart them. They are just a bunch of bullies with knives really….they got no brains…we are smarter than them!" He said.
"Did you say knives?" Sungyeol sounded shocked.
"….and baseball bats…..but I heard they have guns too." Dongwoo added.
"…g..g..guns?" Yeol was still shocked.
"They are one of the most feared gangs in this town, what do you expect Sungyeol." Ellie told him.
"Okay okay guys, maybe they got a few guns but so what….we are quick and good at battle." Woohyun tried to motivate the rest but it wasn't working.
"The gun thing is just a rumor. Some gangs gave strict rules about not allowing fire guns. Some don't even use weapons at all." Hoya assured.
After a heated discussion about what our next step should be, we all agreed that we would try and go spy mode and try to collect information from getting really close to them and trying to find out from there. We teamed up and took guard at different spots around town.
Sungjong and I were right outside a convenience store, siting there acting like we were having a drink.
"I hate beer." Sungjong commented as we were both bored just sitting there. "Me too…" I sighed.
"Why couldn't we get some banana milk or something?" He asked.
"Cause people wouldn't take us seriously." I explained.
"How does beer make one take you seriously exactly?" He had a good point.
"I think they're here." I whispered as I glanced over the two guys. We couldn't hear much of what they were saying but as soon as they got out of the store they bumped into an old man and as expected they tried to pick up a fight with the poor defenseless man. I really wanted to help him out and I knew I could temporarily take down two guys easily, but 1. They are pirates so hitting one will lead to trouble. 2. It can get in the way of our plans to find Sunggyu. How I came with a solution was this: I signaled Sungjong to leave and hide around the wall. They hadn't seen us anyway. I decided If I just hid my identity, they wouldn't be able to recognize me later on.
"Hey Sungjong, do you have one of those face masks you guys like to wear?"
"Yeah why…here…"I took it and immediately put it on.
"Myungsoo what are you planning on doing with this?"
"I can't let them hit the old man."
"Listen, you can stay here or you can help if you want. But if you are, make sure to cover your face first." I told him really quick before jumping into the scene. "But Myungsoo….waiiiit…"
"Yah who are you?!" They guys reacted when I came out of no where and punched both guys to the ground.
I don't wanna brag, but I was stronger than both together. When I tried helping the old man to get up, one of them stood back up and tried to punch me but I dodged it. It was difficult trying to get the man out of there without knocking those guys completely out. But I didn't wanna do that.
"Go to hell!" I kicked them both again and went to help the man again but they stood yet again. All of a sudden I heard a really weird battle scream.
"GAHHHHHHHHHH"
The old man and I turned around and saw Sungjong standing in front of the guys, holding a plastic table up in the air. Ready to throw it to the guys. He was wearing on of those hoodies that zip all the way to the top, so it completely covers his face. It was a really bright neon green.
"What the hell?" The guys were confused.
"AHHHHHH" Sungjong power charged and threw that table right at them, knocking both down at the same time as if he was playing bowling……...holy cow......It gave me perfect time to get the old man to a far enough distance and get him safe out of there.
"This is not gonna end like this you two freaks!" The beat up men said when I grabbed one of the by the collar and said raging from anger. "Damn right it's not gonna end like this!"…….We are getting Sunggyu back from you cowards…..They stood up and began walking away.
"Hey!" I yelled at them one more time so they turned back. "Tell your friends you saw Iron Man." I told them.
......so embarrassing why am I saying this…..
"What?! What the hell." They scoffed and I smirked.
"Yup Iron Man." I smiled and turned around in a cool way.
"AND HUUUULK…THE HULK" Sungjong out of nowhere again yelled out and followed after me.
"I can't believe you did that." I told Sungjong.
"What…did you really think I'm that weak, just because I look skinny. Tsk" He defended.
"Hahaha no I'm not I'm just saying..….hahahahahahaha Iron Man and the Hulk what crack are we on."
It was the first time I truly laughed all day.
"You're awesome Sungjong." I told him.
"Thanks." He flipped his hair fabulously making me laugh.
"Myungsoo......sigh....I'm worried for Gyu." Sungjong said a while later.
"Me too. Sungjong. Me too." I finally admited it to someone.
Comments