Peony – indignation

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                Daehyun sang merrily while watering his plants in the backyard. He was squatting in front of the row of flowers, taking a step after another to the next pot to spray enough water to each of them. He didn’t put any glove on his left hand since he needed to feel the soil and make sure it was properly watered. Then, the same hand would run up the stem, stopping by at each flower and leaf to give them a gentle caress as if they were an animal pet.

                “Ah, you grew so fast, Maeumi.” Daehyun stopped singing to coo at his flower. Jongup had once told him to stop talking and giving names to the plants, or else people would think that he’s having some serious mental illness. But he firmly stood to his logic; if cats and dogs could be named, so why couldn’t his flowers?

                “Is that enough water? Are you feeling refreshed now?” Daehyun asked as if the plant could answer him. He continued to caress one of the peony flowers, now with both hands after putting down the water hose onto the ground. He brought his face closer to it before inhaling the sweet, crisp floral scent, which would always leave a smile on his face.

                Somehow, he was reminded of his first meeting with Yongguk which he had been in the exact same spot as of now. A lot of things had changed since that day. He went out of the house more often now, he was less bored with his life, and he gained more friends. All of those changes could be considered as positive things for him, except one, in which he wasn’t allowed to go out to his own backyard at night anymore.

                Daehyun was still wondering about it until today because every time he asked Yongguk about it, he never got a proper response. He would look after his flowers only in the morning now and if he didn’t go to the gym, he would check them once again in the evening before the sun set.

                Maybe Yongguk was only saying it without any deeper meaning, like when people said – Why are you wearing so thin in this cold weather? – or something like – You’ll get sick if you walk in the rain. Maybe Yongguk was only being considerate because as far as he knew him, Yongguk was really a caring person. Yongguk’s care for him was nothing like pity, in which a blind man like him would receive a lot. He felt so comfortable around Yongguk, it was as natural as breathing. He could still feel the fluttering warmth in his chest every time he recalled the way Yongguk said that his eyes were beautiful.

                Daehyun shut his eyes tightly, embarrassed at his own thought. His hands had moved from cupping the flower to gripping the edge of the pot, real hard to let out all of the tingling giddiness. If he didn’t pressed his lips together, he was sure there would be some high-pitched whining noises that he wouldn’t even have expected coming from his own mouth.

                “Are you going to the gym today?” Jongup’s voice startled Daehyun out of his reverie. He was so shocked that he could almost plant his own face into the pot if he had not held onto it for his dear life.

                “You scared the hell out of me!” He snapped at Jongup, who was supposedly standing at the back door, a few meters right behind him.

                It was Jongup’s turn to be surprised, jumping in his spot before looking at his brother in disbelief. “I thought you’d always know when someone’s approaching you! You’d know I’m standing right here even if I didn’t say anything!”

                Jongup was right, Daehyun thought. But if his brother knew that he was daydreaming, he would definitely be ridiculed about that, moreover if he knew it was about Yongguk.

                “Whatever!” Daehyun quickly ended their verbal battle before it could go on any further. “What did you ask again?”

                Jongup rolled his eyes, annoyed by the fact that his older brother gets away with everything. If he was the one in Daehyun’s spot, he could confirm that he would be chastised for the whole day. “I was asking if you’re going to the gym today.”

                “I have an afternoon class today,” Daehyun answered while feeling the ground to pick up the water hose. “Why?”

                It was quiet for a moment before Jongup gave his reply. “Just asking. I don’t have any class today so I can go pick you up at the studio right on time.”

                Maybe Daehyun couldn’t see what face Jongup was making right now, but he could totally hear the disappointment in his voice. Standing up on his feet, he turned around to face his brother. “Do you want to go?” he asked with a smirk.

                Jongup straightened his back against the doorframe upon seeing Daehyun’s teasing tone. “I have no reason to go there,” he tried to sound as casual as possible.

                “Jongup, people go to a gym to exercise,” Daehyun stated as if his brother didn’t know that already but then, his smirk grew wider. “Or there’s another reason for you?”

                “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The annoyance was apparent in Jongup’s retort.

                Daehyun scoffed. “Come on, Jongupie. I know you’ve been dying to see Youngjae for the past two days. Oh wait, it’s only been a couple of days and you’re already going crazy!”

                Daehyun laughed, harder and harder on purpose, just to annoy Jongup even more. But when quite a few seconds passed without any spiteful return from the younger one, his laugh slowly faded away.

                “Jongup?” Daehyun called and there was only silence answering him. That’s when he realized that his brother had left him laughing alone in the backyard. “Aish, that little brat!”

 

 

                As he said earlier, Jongup was already at the studio to fetch Daehyun before the older man finished his class. He went there wearing his gym clothes because without Daehyun knowing, he had another plan in his mind after that. He only told his brother when they started walking out of the studio.

                “We’re going to the gym.”

                “What?” Daehyun gave Jongup’s arm that he was holding a slight tug as he wasn’t very pleased with the surprise he got. “But I’m not wearing –”

                “Don’t worry about that,” Jongup cut him off before patting the small duffle bag he was carrying all along. “I’ve brought your change of clothes.”

                Daehyun didn’t have any more protest with that being said. His sly smile appeared again. “I knew it. You miss to see Youngjae after all.”

                “I’m just going there to exercise, just so you know,” Jongup remarked.

                Daehyun would like to tease his brother a little more, but he realized that he was not any different. His mind was slowly filled with the thoughts of having to meet Yongguk again after two long empty days. Maybe this time he had to thank Jongup, or even Youngjae, for this chance.

 

 

 

                “So, your brother starts working out today,” Yongguk said, taking a glance at Jongup who was lifting the dumbbells using both of his hands, as he walked Daehyun to the treadmill.

                “He has his reason for that,” Daehyun muttered giddily, as if he was about to tell Yongguk a secret.

                “Really? Like what?”

                “He wanted to see Youngjae, I guess.”

                Yongguk frowned. “Youngjae?” He looked at Jongup again, this time following the trail of his gaze and it was really directed to the receptionist, who was taking a break by talking to a trainer as they sat by the poseur table.

                “I think he’s interested in him.” Daehyun chuckled. “Is Youngjae cute?”

                Yongguk stopped at one of the unoccupied treadmills. “I think so…? But… Youngjae’s a man.” He took Daehyun’s hand from his arm to guide him up onto the running belt.

                “Jongup has always been attracted to man, a cute one that is. And he’s very frank about it.” Daehyun felt everything around him, from the handlebars to the console, to get the best position on the treadmill.

                Yongguk went to stand at his usual spot next to the treadmill, perching his elbows on the bar as he looked up at Daehyun. “And you don’t have any problem with it?”

                “I don’t…” Daehyun quickly answered, but somehow it sounded like he hesitated. He knew what Yongguk meant was the same relationship, but for him, there was no difference with the opposite . He was still struggling to process the fact that a man should be attracted to a woman, pondering if the attraction should be based on physical appearance. If it was, there would be a problem for a blind man like him.

                Yongguk didn’t say anything during his pause and Daehyun guessed that the latter was waiting for him to continue. He lowered his gaze to the ground and gnawed on his lips, unsure of how to voice out his thought. “I don’t know how it feels to have a crush on someone…” he muttered sheepishly.

                “Really?” Yongguk was more than intrigued by Daehyun’s confession. If it’s true, what would he call the shy acts Daehyun had given him before? “You never have one before?”

                “Yeah…” Daehyun leaned his back against the other handrail and began to play with the hem of his shirt.

                “Are you sure?” Yongguk insisted because Daehyun was his mate after all. Now that Daehyun was facing him, he could have a clearer view of his mate’s face, which was obviously growing a deep blush on his cheeks.

                “W-Well… I’ve never thought of being in that kind of relationship with someone…” Daehyun couldn’t help but stammered. His heart started to beat at an oddly fast pace, his face got heated and he didn’t know why.

                “Until today?” Yongguk teased again, causing Daehyun to blush even harder.

                “Manager, quit flirting and do your job!” Himchan’s shout broke their fun moment, at least for Yongguk because Daehyun seemed relieved to be interrupted.

                Yongguk turned to the direction of the voice, only to find Himchan smirking at him as he passed by. “I am doing my job! Go away!” he waved his hand in a shooing motion.

                “Himchan hyung’s funny,” Daehyun said with an awkward chuckle after clearing his throat, trying to brush off their previous intense conversation.

                Yongguk snorted, side-eyeing Himchan, who had continued walking forward. “He’s telling me to do my job when he’s the one going around chatting with everyone in the gym.”

                “It’s good that he’s socializing with his customers.” Daehyun let out a small laugh. “You should really get back to work, hyung. I can handle this on my own now,” he assured while patting the console.

                Yongguk was utterly frustrated, but both Himchan and Daehyun were right. He had not been doing his work properly every time Daehyun came to the gym. So, if he didn’t want his work to accumulate again, he really had to sacrifice his time with his precious mate.

                “Alright.” He sighed in defeat. “I’ll be in my office if you need to find me, but you can just scream my name if you really need me.”

                Daehyun reassured a beaming smile to Yongguk. “Got it.”

 

 

 

                Finished with making a round of the gym’s ground floor, Himchan stopped by the table before taking a seat on another high stool next to Youngjae, who was alone now. He had already managed to tease Yongguk, who was obviously being all dreamy with his mate, and now, it was Youngjae’s turn.

                “Looks like someone has been keeping his eyes on you,” he muttered to the receptionist’s ear. With his sharp eyes, he had noticed Jongup’s gaze on Youngjae as soon as the college boy started his workout.

                Youngjae teared his eyes from his phone’s screen to glower at the bane. “I’m okay with that as long as he doesn’t talk to me,” he said with a miffed smile.

                “Aww come on, don’t be so cold.” Himchan playfully nudged Youngjae’s shoulder. “A cutie like him deserves a chance.”

                Youngjae only grimaced at Himchan’s sickeningly broad fawning smile before rolling his eyes back to his phone.

 

 

                Daehyun and Jongup were once again walking home from the gym. It was a little later compared to the last time though, since Jongup was too immersed in staring at the cute receptionist. Not that Daehyun minded since he got more time to spend with Yongguk too. The man had offered them a ride again, but same as before, Jongup chose not to owe anything to the gym manager.

                They had their delayed meal on the way home and when they stepped out of the small restaurant, it was already dark outside. Jongup guided his brother out of the cramped place and resumed their walk home.

                “Any progress?” Daehyun asked. He didn’t have the chance to do that before since he was busy blabbering about his tiring day and how hungry he was.

                “Hyung, this is my first day working out at a gym. My body was just getting used to it. Besides, I don’t need much progress since my body has always been very fit with all the dancing I’ve done,” Jongup gave a confident, elaborated answer.

                “I’m not talking about that,” Daehyun remarked incredulously.

                Jongup frowned, turning to look at his brother. “Then, what are you talking about?”

                “I’m talking about Youngjae.” Daehyun grinned.

                Jongup promptly rolled his eyes at that. Here it comes, he thought. He had a look around the place in order to think of a nice return. They were nearing their neighbourhood and less people were around even though it was still early at night. The street was also darker compared to the ones in the downtown. There was only enough light to know where they were going.

                Before his mind could think of anything, he could see shadows appearing at his line of sight. They seemed like a group of men who had just walked out from an alley. Jongup suddenly felt shivers running up his spine, cold sweats were breaking at his temple. The silhouettes were approaching them and his steps were slowing down.

                “There you go again!” Daehyun snapped when Jongup just kept quiet for quite a while. “Why aren’t you answering me?”

                Jongup had no time to explain when the men was getting closer. He could see their faces better now and they didn’t seem so nice. He wanted to act casual at first, thinking that they would pass by them without any problem, although the men were staring right at them. He could only pray to god for both of their safety.

                “Jongup?” Daehyun called, noticing that his brother was acting weird. It didn’t help when he was suddenly hearing mixed kind of footsteps approaching them.

                The men were slowing down as they were reaching him. Jongup’s heart was beating so fast, frightened by the menacing looks they were giving. He couldn’t properly count how many of them actually, but he could assume that there were almost ten of them.

                Jongup had no choice but to halt his steps. “Hyung, get behind me,” he breathed out before getting in front of his brother, shielding him with his body.

                Daehyun was utterly confused. Jongup had taken his hand away from the arm he was holding. When he lifted his hand again, he only found Jongup’s broad back right in front him. He didn’t know what was actually happening, but now that everything was quiet, he had a guess that all the owners of the footsteps might be standing before them.

                “Hi, there,” the one standing the closest to them greeted cheerfully with his hands shoved into the pockets.

                Jongup glared at the man, who could be easily identified by his neck length dreadlocks. “What do you want?”

                “What’s with that face? Are you scared of us?” The man laughed before craning his neck to look over his shoulder. “Hey, you back there, are you scared of me?”

                Jongup knew Daehyun was aware of who the guy was talking to, based on the clench of his shirt behind him. “Just tell me what you want. There’s no need to bother us like this.”

                The guy smirked. “I’ll tell you what I want.”

                As if on cue, the other men charged towards him. Jongup’s arms were locked behind him in seconds by two of them, pulling him into their grasp and away from his brother. His gym bag was thrown somewhere on the ground.

                Daehyun trembled in fear when he lost his grip on Jongup’s shirt. His breaths became short hearing the ruckus around him with his brother grunting loudly.

                “Let go of me!” Jongup yelled as he struggled to free himself.

                “J-Jongup…?” Daehyun didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He just cowered in his spot until there was a harsh grip on his face. His hands flew onto the larger one, trying to detach it from cupping his cheeks.

                “No! Let go of him!” Jongup yelled at the man who was hurting his brother, the same man who was talking earlier. His stomach dropped at the sight of Daehyun being surrounded by the rest of the men.

                The man chuckled at Jongup before turning to the whimpering Daehyun again. He took off the shades covering Daehyun’s eyes for a better look. “What with these sunglasses at this time? Are you blind?” he asked and instantly got the answer when the shorter man was darting his eyes in every direction except his face.

                Having a stranger to look at his unseeing eyes made Daehyun to be even more petrified. There wasn’t any force left in his hands to pull his face away from the man’s hold. They were only clutching weakly to the much stronger hand.

                The man tilted Daehyun’s face from side to side. “Hmm…” He turned to Jongup for a moment before going back to check Daehyun out. “I like this one better, totally my type.” He smirked, running his free hand from Daehyun’s side to his hip.

                Jongup’s eyes widened. “Don’t touch him!” he warned furiously.

                Daehyun whimpered louder, trying to stop the travelling hand to go any further, but his was quickly pulled to his back from someone behind him, causing him to groan in pain. He was scared, they were hurting him, he felt helpless, and the terrified tears started to fall from his eyes. “Jongup…”

                “Let go of him!” Jongup was almost pleading. It pained him to see his brother crying in fright, but his attempt to free himself by wrestling out of the men’s restraint went in vain.

                “Your body has a nice curve too.” The man had moved his hold to Daehyun’s nape. His other hand was wrapped around Daehyun’s waist. “You can make a good slave. Being blind is a bonus,” he muttered, followed by a hollow laugh.

                Daehyun couldn’t think of anything anymore except for a miracle to happen. He prayed for someone to come and save them.

                “Help…” Daehyun shut his eyes tightly as he mustered the remaining energy and started to thrash in the men’s grasp.

                “What did you say?” The man asked with a frown. His hold tightened around Daehyun’s body.

                “Help us, somebody help us!” Daehyun’s voice got louder and louder.

                The man snorted a laugh. “Are you seriously calling for help right now? Shut up!”

                Daehyun ignored the threat, his free hand began to hit the man’s chest repeatedly as hard as he could, dropping his bag that was filled with the music sheets and his folded cane onto the ground in the process. “Let me go…” he cried desperately. “Anybody…”

                “Stop it!” The man shouted, easily locking Daehyun’s attacking hand in the air.

                Daehyun thrashed even more, his chant of calling for help was turning into a scream. “Anybody save us! Please! Save us!”

                “I said stop!” The man backhanded the side of Daehyun’s head, causing him to pass out.

                “Hyung!” Jongup shouted, his eyes were bulging out as he stared at his unconscious brother in disbelief. “Daehyun hyung!”

                The tears which he had fought so hard to hold back were already rolling onto his cheeks. Jongup gritted his teeth, trying with all his might to get rid of the men’s grip so that he could go take his brother into his arms again. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he didn’t do that. He only need a little more strength to take them down.

                As if he had been heard, Daehyun’s unconscious figure was snatched from the man’s hold in a blink of an eye. Jongup stared at another man who had taken his brother into his arms, extremely shocked with his sudden appearance, moreover after he recognized him as Yongguk.

                Yongguk still managed to throw a punch on the man’s face even when he was supporting Daehyun’s limp body with only an arm around his torso. The rest of the thugs began to charge towards him, but they were all taken care by the other gym members. Himchan and Minsu made the first move to defend Yongguk. Then, the two men, who were holding Jongup, released him to attack the intruders.

                Jongup was sent to the ground as he failed to regain his balance. When he looked up, he saw Youngjae and Sungjoon throwing their fists onto each of the men. His view was quickly blocked when Yongguk appeared before him, carrying Daehyun in both of his arms.

                “Go take him home,” Yongguk ordered.

                Jongup hastily got up on his feet and turned around to let Yongguk place Daehyun’s body on his back. Fixing his hold under Daehyun’s thighs, he began to run towards his house after sending Yongguk one last thankful glance.

                “Aish, such a party pooper,” the man with dreads grumbled.

                Yongguk turned around, walking past s to face the other clan. The rest of the men also had gathered behind their leader. Yongguk absolutely knew who they were; the Massif clan. They were a total of seven, with an alpha named Jiho. They were the reason his clan needed to make rounds in the whole town every night. But tonight, they made a hassle a lot earlier than they should have.

                “This is my clan’s territory. I won’t let you mess with it,” Yongguk firmly declared. His own clan had gone through a number of encounters with them. Being a clan of nomads, the Massifs would come once in a while to abduct new slaves. The longest chance of them staying in the same place would be six months. They would only move to a new town if they were bored, or they were in a great danger of being discovered by the locals.

                “Yeah, yeah, sure,” Jiho nonchalantly acknowledged. His palm was pressed against his left jaw, stretching it after the numbing punch he received from the latter. “It’s been so long since I came here, I almost forgot all of your names. You’re the one with the twin brother, right? Both of you look the same, I don’t know which one was already dead.”

                Yongguk remained calm. “It doesn’t matter now that there’s only one who you need to watch out.”

                “You’re right. You’ve gotten stronger now.” Jiho nodded while shrugging his shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could protect your brother like the way you protect the pretty boy?”

                Yongguk’s jaw clenched. “It would be great if I could kill you before you could ing kill my brother.”

                Jiho snickered. “Well, let the past be the past. Now, you’re in my way to get the pretty boy. I kinda heard his name. What is it again?” he taunted with an evil smirk before tilting his head in wonder. “Daehyun?”

                Yongguk could feel the eyes of his clan members on him. He tried so hard to hide the rage in his expression, even though his hands were balled into fists.

                Jiho noticed it nonetheless. “I guess there’s something between you and him. This is interesting.”

                “Leave him alone,” Yongguk warned through gritted teeth.

                “You’ve got to be kidding,” Jiho laughed like it was ridiculously hilarious, even turning around to his clan members to make them laugh with him. “Letting go of the beautiful boy just like that?” he asked when he turned back to Yongguk. “No way! I’ve been looking for a pretty, y slave for a long time. Now that I’ve found one, I don’t think I’ll ever let him go.”

                “He’s a man,” Yongguk retorted.

                Jiho scoffed. “I’m looking for a slave, not a wife. I don’t care if he’s a man, a women, a trans, as long as he has those perfect lips.”

                Yongguk was totally pissed off. The urge to crush every single bones of Jiho was at its peak and he would really do that if there wasn’t Himchan who had held him back by placing a hand on his shoulder. But his blood was still boiling, his breathing was furious as he glower at the other clan’s leader.

                Jiho seemed pretty satisfied in provoking the future alpha. With his hands in his pockets again, he boldly stepped closer to whisper at Yongguk’s ears. “I’ll make Daehyun mine.” He casually turned around to take his leave after that, followed by his clan members who were still sneering at him.

 

 

                Daehyun woke up with a jolt. He kept hearing the voices of the thugs and he was somehow glad that it was only a dream, even though it was also the cause of his nightmare. But he still didn’t know how he ended up sleeping after what happened.

                The anxious feeling surged throughout his body again. He jerked up, trying to figure out where he actually was. He hastily felt around the place he was sitting on, which he assumed was a bed, but his mind was too messed up to think further than that.

                “Jongup!” he shrieked nervously, scared by the thought of being separated with his brother. “Jongup! Jongup!”

                Jongup came in a rush. He was previously guarding the house by looking out of the windows, afraid if some of the thugs had followed them. Climbing onto the bed, he quickly pulled his brother into a hug.

                Daehyun flinched away at first, but hearing Jongup’s reassuring voice relieved him.

                “Shhh… Hyung, I’m here.”

                “Jongup, Jongup…” Daehyun started to cry his heart out, clutching onto Jongup’s shirt for his dear life. “They want to take me with them… I don’t want to go with them… I’m scared…” he sobbed at the crook of Jongup’s neck.

                “It’s okay, hyung,” Jongup soothed his brother by rubbing his quivering back while his other hand was Daehyun’s head. “They can’t take you away from me. I won’t let them do that.”

                Daehyun cried harder, moving his head to lean on Jongup’s warm chest. He let the steady heartbeat to tame his wild one, and with the tender touches from Jongup, he was finally calming down.

                “Where are we…?” he sniffled, not crying anymore.

                “We’re in your room,” Jongup muttered, his chin moving against Daehyun’s soft hair. “Don’t you recognize?”

                If Daehyun had paid a little more attention, he would have easily recognized his own room. But he had just woken up from a blackout and his thoughts were all jumbled up in his mind. “How…? Wh-What happened?”

                Before Jongup could respond, the bell rang. Both of them tensed, neither was sure if they had not heard it wrongly. Their doubt was shortly blown away when it rang for the second time.

                “Someone’s here.” Jongup didn’t plan to break his hold on his brother soon, but he also wanted to know who it was. He slowly pulled away, only to find Daehyun’s hands were still stuck to his shirt.

                “No, Jongup. Don’t leave me,” Daehyun pleaded, tears were pooling in his eyes again.

                Jongup would never want to see Daehyun cry again. “Come,” he held Daehyun’s arm as he got off the bed and waited for his brother to follow him.

                Daehyun quickly clung to Jongup’s arm as soon as they started to walk out of the room. He would never have to be guided in his own house but, he was so scared that his knees could buckle anytime.

                Jongup stopped by the couch in the living room and took Daehyun’s hands in his. “Wait here, hyung.” He pressed down Daehyun’s shoulders, trying to make him sit there.

                “No, don’t leave me alone,” Daehyun begged in a whisper, gripping tightly under Jongup’s arms.

                “I’m just going to check who it is. I won’t open the door if I don’t know them,” Jongup assured.

                Daehyun reluctantly complied. Slowly, he let go of his brother to feel for the couch before lowering himself onto it. “Be careful.”

                Jongup went straight to the door after that and peeked through the hole. It was Yongguk, with Himchan behind him. Although he might have his own doubts in that man, he was somehow relieved that it wasn’t the thugs again. For now, he decided to open the door, just because they had saved Daehyun and him.

                A worried Yongguk was the first thing to greet him. “Is everything okay?” the man asked directly.

                “Should be okay,” Jongup nodded towards his brother, opening the door wider to let them see the living room. His fingers were still wrapped around the knob though, showing no intention to let them in.

                Yongguk craned his neck for a better look inside, eyes wide with concern. “Is he alright?” he asked about Daehyun, whose body had shrunk into the seat while anxiously kneading his thighs.

                Jongup turned back to Yongguk after taking a short glance to his brother. “He’s a bit shocked and scared,” he muttered.

                “It’s good enough to see him calmed down,” Yongguk said with a thin smile.

                “What about you?” Himchan asked. “Are you okay?”

                “Yeah, I’m fine. What happened to those thugs?”

                “Oh, don’t worry about it. We took care of them,” Himchan promised as if it was only a small matter.

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, you go take a rest and get some sleep. We’ll be going home now. We just come here to check on both of you,” he said while handing out both Jongup’s bag which was dropped earlier and Yongguk did the same thing with Daehyun’s bag he had picked up.

                Jongup nodded and took the bags. “Alright, thanks for your concern and… Thanks for your help.” Although he was hesitant to express his gratitude, Yongguk and his cousins were in fact the ones who had saved his brother. He was truly indebted to them.

                After closing the door, Jongup went back to Daehyun, plopping down next to him with a tired sigh, his arm draping around Daehyun’s shoulders. The bags were placed on the coffee table. “It’s Yongguk hyung,” he stated.

                “What is he doing here?” Daehyun asked, looking at Jongup’s direction with a hand placed on his brother’s thigh. Confusion was drawn on his face.

                “He’s the one who saved you, together with his cousins,” Jongup explained and his brother seemed surprised to hear that.

                “How?” Daehyun wondered if it was just a coincidence.

                “I don’t know. They came out of nowhere after you out and beat those bastards like knights in shining armor,” Jongup answered halfheartedly. “But don’t you think something is strange here?”

                Daehyun frowned. “Like what?”

                “I don’t know… It seems that Yongguk hyung and his cousins know the thugs…” Jongup ventured his thought.

                Daehyun was also thrown into a deep thought because of that. “Are you saying that he might be a bad guy too?” he spoke up after a whole minute of being silent.

                “I’m not saying that,” Jongup jutted out his bottom lip and shrugged. “I just have a thought about it.”

                Daehyun’s head lowered, gazing blankly at the carpeted floor as he let his mind process the possibility of Jongup’s suspicion. “But… He saved me…”

                Jongup heard Daehyun’s murmur loud and clear. He stared at Daehyun’s temple. There was only a small scratch from the strike and he had put a band aid over it. The scene of his brother knocked out of conscious was still fresh in his mind. He remembered how frightened Daehyun was while calling his name, he remembered how Daehyun started to scream for help because his brother couldn’t even do anything other than just watching him being touched by those filthy hands.

                Even though he was grateful that Yongguk really did come to save them, he couldn’t help his feeling to burn with jealousy. He was Daehyun’s brother. He was the one who should protect Daehyun, not to watch him being hurt without doing anything.

 

 

                He was supposed to go home like what he had said to Jongup, as in to continue making rounds in the town but, Yongguk was too agitated to leave Daehyun and Jongup alone in the house. So, he changed his mind and chose to guard the house for the night, telling Himchan to go to his assigned area and leave him there.

                Himchan, however, said that it was almost midnight, there wouldn’t be any people wandering around in the small town. The locals had always known to stay indoor every night after the occasional cases of kidnapping and abduction.

                “I’ll keep you company here,” Himchan said as he followed Yongguk to the backyard.

                “What if the Massifs cause troubles again?” Yongguk voiced out his concern.

                “I don’t think they have much energy left. Besides, this is the first time we saw them. They must have just arrived here and they would be busy finding a place to stay. And we both know there won’t be any people going out during this time. The only people who would do that are the new ones, like Daehyun and Jongup.” Himchan sounded convincing with all the details he pointed out.

                “You think so?” Yongguk stopped in his track to look at the latter.

                “Yeah,” Himchan nodded confidently.

                Yongguk sighed heavily. “I’ve been feeling uneasy to let them go home on their own when it’s already dark. I should’ve followed them ever since they left the gym.”

                “It’s not your fault. Who would’ve thought that they’d cause troubles that early in the night?” Himchan reached over Yongguk’s slumped shoulder to give it a comforting tap.

                Yongguk pulled a small smile, thankfully patting back the hand on his shoulder. “Alright, better tell the others about it,” he said, turning around and resumed his walk towards the large tree, the same tree which had brought him to his fated mate. “But what about your wife and kid?”

                “They went to the main house this evening, probably spending the night there.” Himchan followed Yongguk closely as they climbed the tree and quietly jumped onto the roof. They found a spot on a flatter surface to sit down.

                “Don’t you think it’s amazing? Being able to hear Daehyun’s scream from quite a distance?” Himchan was genuinely stunned when Yongguk had ordered them to follow him after they had just finished closing the gym. Yongguk’s car was left behind since they preferred to run through the shortcuts. Even if they were not allowed by the head alpha to shift forms in the town, their normal running speed was already much higher than the average human’s. They ran as fast as they could and reached the place where Daehyun and Jongup were attacked in no time.

                Yongguk only laughed sheepishly. “I have no idea I could do something like that.”

                “Even I can’t do it! And when you sent a blow to Jiho’s face, you almost made him kiss the ground!”

                Yongguk shook his head, amused at Himchan being in awe of his own cousin. “I didn’t know I could do that either.”

                “Well, we both know you have the alpha dragon in your blood, Yongguk. You just have to let it out,” Himchan stated, less eager than before.

                The curve of Yongguk’s smile gradually turned into a thin line and he looked up to the night sky, brightened by the stars. “I’m not brave enough like him…”

                “Nah.” Himchan waved his hand dismissively. “I think both of you were so alike to each other. It’s just that he got to show it a little earlier than you,” he quipped with a nudge to Yongguk’s arm. “You’re twins after all.”

                Yongguk’s smile got slightly wider again, his eyes were fixed to a star which shined brighter that the others. “I wonder what he would do if he’s still with us.”

                Himchan too averted his gaze to the sky as he gave it a thought. “Since you’re very similar to each other, maybe he would think that Daehyun is his mate too,” he deadpanned, managing to get a good laugh from Yongguk.

 

 

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A/N:

Now I know that youngjaexjongup ship is called youngup. Cute ^^

Thank you for waiting for so long! Let's hope the next update won't take that long >.<

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