“ the goddamn World System!” Jinyoung screamed, knocking over the wine bottles. 

    Youngjae flinched as the eerie sounds of glass shattering invaded his ears. Since the hang up from Daniel, Youngjae has been witnessing the outbreak of the Chairman. The doctor had thought his best friend’s too calm appearance and unusual maturity were a fraud. And he wasn’t wrong. 

    “I ing knew it!” 

    “Jin-“

    “This was why I always told him to wear shades, but of course, did he listened? NO!” 

    “Hyung, can-“

    “. Of all the times! I knew it would backfires! Even worse now that he’s involved with me…” 

    Youngjae sighed loudly, “hyung! Can you stop breaking bottles and making a mess?” Glass shards were scattered all around, and Jinyoung just walked back and forth like it’s nothing. Being a doctor, Youngjae gets anxious. 

    Jinyoung stopped. Thousands of worries ran through his mind, each doing a perfect job of clawing at his flesh. The thought of his precious husband being beaten until fatigue fuels him as the seconds drew by. The hate he has for himself becomes unbearable. How could he, the world’s most powerful business figure, allows his own husband to be treated like that? Why couldn’t he do anything? There’s so much he could do, but why couldn’t he? 

    “Hyung, whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it,” the doctor looked up, trying to read the Chairman, who’s balling his fists and shaking with anger with his eyes setting themselves in flames. 

    “They’re going to know, Youngjae,” Jinyoung said through slow exhales and attempts of controlling his rage. “They’re going to hack into the World System. I… I-Youngjae-ah, it’s easy to hide informations from the government, you know? It’s easy to take out some and add in some . But the World System is a whole different game. Everything is in the system. I mean everything. Sure, there’s some things that can be locked away in the system through layers upon layers of security, but there are things that can be easily accessed to.”

    A pause. Youngjae waited. 

    “And… A-and one of the things that can be easily accessed to… Is… Is marital status and certificate.” Another bottle of wine went crashing against the floor, splattering red liquid and glass shards all over Jinyoung’s feet. “There’s a ing reason for everything I do. There’s a ing reason why I want Mark’s eyes to be covered whenever he’s outside with me while I’m on my business leave. But back then, Mark and I weren’t on good terms, so he just wouldn’t listen. Now, it really did all comes back and bites his . Even worse, I’m in on it, too.” 

    “Jinyoung-hyung…”

    “But that’s not the point! I don’t ing cares what happens to me! They can break me, humiliate me, rip me, kill me, but God, please, don’t ing touch him. Please.” The feeling of sharp blades stabbing his sensitive heart tortured Jinyoung into submission. He fell to his knees, ignoring the glass shards piercing through his skin, held his face in his hands, letting his heart cries out. “Mark is all I have. I can’t lose him… How am I supposed to live without him… I can’t… I need him..” 

    Youngjae immediately left his seat and flew over to Jinyoung’s side. He wrapped the vulnerable young master in a comforting embrace. Youngjae felt the sting in his eyes as the emotions came rolling back like waves before a storm. “It’s okay, Jinyoung-ah. You’re okay… He’ll come back, Jinyoung-ah… It’s okay… It’s okay… It’s…” Youngjae wished he could stop lying to himself. But he’d rather lies and somewhat mends his best friend’s broken heart, than say the truth and have Jinyoung losing the will to pick himself up. 

    “I… I-I j-just… I just wants him home, Youngjae-ah. Why is that so hard to ask for? All I want is for him to come home to me,” Jinyoung’s sniffles couldn’t cover the painful crack of his voice, “I misses him so much. So ing much. I just wants him to come home… I… … Someone, someone, just please, bring Mark back to me. I can’t take it anymore…”  

    Seeing his dear hyung, who’s been a strong person for the longest time, like this stirred Youngjae. The doctor’s own heart sympathizes as he buries his face into the shoulder of his best friend. At that moment, there was nothing more painful than knowing the ones they love were slowly slipping away from their grasps. 

===

    It can’t end like this. 

    It can’t.

    Youngjae-ah, please, come back. 

    Jaebum continued chanting the same mantra over and over as he sat lifeless at the foot of their shared bed. The room smelled strongly of his beloved husband, reminding him how much he loves that adorable doctor with a sassy attitude. Jaebum smiled, picturing Youngjae cuddling on their bed on a morning with his bare chest bathing in sunshine and a loving grin danced upon his swollen lips. He misses it all. Those days were so simple and calming. 

    Jaebum feels pathetic. 

    The feeling of guilt has been eating him up since the night Youngjae left. He had wished time would turn back, so he could do something more about it. But what has hurt him that night was Youngjae turning his back. Youngjae. His Youngjae. Of course, Jaebum knows there must be a reason why Youngjae would do that, but putting it aside, what his husband had said were like growing thorns in Jaebum’s heart. How could Youngjae just left him like that? What did Jaebum do wrong? Why? Why…

    Yearns and longing attacked him whenever he’s unguarded by his cold wall of heartlessness. Youngjae is his only source of emotions. But now, that’s also gone. Jaebum should be going to work. It’s already past the time of the daily morning meeting, yet the strength in his legs hasn’t restored. It’s like life suddenly becomes meaningless. There’s no will power to do anything anymore. 

    Besides, what’s the point? Jaebum couldn’t leave the house anyways. Master Im and Madam Im had resorted to locking their own son inside the room, probably afraid that he’ll go wild and run away again just like the old times. It’s brings them better control over Jaebum to have him rot away in the room. 

    But none of that matters to Jaebum. The moment Youngjae walked out was the moment Jaebum had lost the desire to live. Now, he’s a walking corpse, waiting for something to shoot him dead. 

    “Open up, Jaebum,’’ the awful familiar woman’s voice crawls nastily under Jaebum’s skin. 

    No response. 

    “I said open up!” 

    Jaebum sat still, eyes still staring into a distant, searching for something that’s not really there. 

    The voice outside had stopped calling. A few minutes later, the door knob turned. “Jesus Christ, Jaebum, you don’t even wants to see your own mother now?” Madam Im walked in with a set of keys in her hand. She looked at her son and shook her head, “goodness, look at you. Did the world ended on your Birthday or something?” 

    Scoffing, Jaebum didn’t even spare that woman a glance, “why are you in here? Get out.” 

    Madam Im sighed, “that’s not the way you should be speaking with your mother.” 

    “You’re not my mother.”

    “Im Jaebum!” 

    “What?! What the do you want? Is doing all the s you’ve done not enough? What more do you want? Why can’t you just leave me alone! I’m sick of this bull!” Jaebum abandoned his mourning spot by the bed. He’s up on his feet, face painted with red as blood rushes up to his brain and veins popping like mad. 

    Reaching out, a slap was delivered across Jaebum’s cheek by the Madam. “You ungrateful child! We don’t have a son like you!” 

    Gritting his teeth angrily, Jaebum roared, “YOU DON’T!” The door was wide opened. Although the feeling of leaving those memories behind gnawed at Jaebum’s insides, he still dashed through them, unable to breathe in the same air as those monsters he used to regarded as parents. 

    The screams of the Madam could be heard echoing all over the mansion, alerting the guards below to catch the runaway young master. But Jaebum isn’t a Captain for nothing. He slipped smoothly through the walls of his parents’ guards and hurriedly out the front doors. It didn’t took long before the engine was ignited and Jaebum sped away from the place they had called home.  

    Home wasn’t there anymore. 

    Home is wherever Youngjae is. 

===

    The peaceful, yet dreading, scenery of Jinyoung’s backyard only added on to the heavy sorrow Youngjae was feeling. It was obvious how long the pool has been left alone without its owners swimming happily while splashing water at each other. Stepping out, Youngjae decided to dip his feet into the mildly cold water. He titled his head back, breathing calmly, trying to find a will to relax under the weights on his sore shoulders. 

    Sana had called earlier to ask about Youngjae’s sudden absence. But all Youngjae could said to his friend was that he needed some time off. And he promised to return to work next week. Youngjae mentally thanked Sana for not pressing the matters on any longer than it has to be. 

    Youngjae sighed. There’s so much he could handle all at once. He dropped his head in shame and stared down at the reflection that’s piercing through every piece of his broken soul. Youngjae could truly see himself. See how pitiful he is. See how much sadness that’s harboring within his glass eyes. See how dependent he really is on someone he’s trying to protect. 

    Unable to witness what a mess himself is, Youngjae shuts his eyes. The tapes of memories kept rolling as it continued stacking despair upon the doctor’s head. Everything becomes a horror film, haunting Youngjae and taunting him out of his last grip on sanity. Temptation overthrown what was even left of him. Opening his eyes, Youngjae stared down again, challenging the man in the water to pull him in. 

    Challenge accepted.

    Youngjae could feel his body loosens. Suddenly, the soft wind blows turned violent around him, screaming into his ears with blasphemy. Youngjae was bleeding from the inside. Pain seeping under his skin and ripped him raw. For a moment, Youngjae just wants to let go. Let go of everything.

    Let go of the last string of sanity he’s been forcing himself to hold on.

    Let go of what’s hurting him.

    Let go of the ring, the promise, the pain, that bound them together. 

    Let go of Jaebum. 

===

    Jinyoung called out, unsure of where his best friend had disappeared to. Worried found itself on his face as he hurried downstairs. It was strangely quiet. Jinyoung looked around, anxiety starts building up and bangs against his ribcage in a tempered tantrum. No sign of Youngjae anywhere in the kitchen or living room. Biting his lip until it bled, Jinyoung was afraid of what he’ll face with when he turns around. 

    Eyes widened as soon as it came in contact with the pool in the backyard, Jinyoung’s legs carried himself through the panic and slid open the glass doors. 

    “YOUNGJAE!” 

    Jinyoung abandoned all thoughts and dived into the water. 

===

    Counting minutes has becomes one of Mark’s favorite thing to do in this isolated ditch. Every time he tried to freed himself, the chains only pulled him back. Mark hates it. Hates the annoying clanging sounds these heavy chains made whenever being bothered. Mark sighed, slumped down against the wall like he’s been doing after counting up to a hundred minutes. 

    His throat burns with dryness. His eyes could barely kept themselves open properly. His limbs just gave up on supporting the remains of his weak body. They really did starved him for days. Not even a drop of water was rewarded. 

    At times like this, all Mark could think of is Jinyoung. Has his baby been eating well? Has Jaebum been coming over often to feed him? Has Jinyoung been remembering to eat whenever time calls? Has Jinyoung-

    Mark chuckled to himself. He misses Jinyoung. 

    His little giggles turned into laughs. Mark could physically feels himself leaving him. He could feel Mark Tuan’s control leaving him. And a newfound madness was replaced there, filling up the empty spot. His laughters eventually died down as he stared ahead of him with drained eyes. His lips were cracking and traces of dried blood decorated them proudly in a depressing manner. He’s thirsty. He’s hurting. He’s hungry.

    The metal door creaked open as it welcomes a man, followed by four others. Daniel shook his head in pity, “look at you. Poor child, are you lost?” 

    Without looking away from whatever he’s been staring at or moving a muscle on his face, Mark replied emotionlessly, “no, not lost. Just want something to on.” 

    Daniel smirked, “you’re like this, yet you still have the audacity to speak of such things. Impressive, Tuan.” 

    To this, Mark scoffed dryly, “it’ll be a waste of my good looks to not always think about ing.” 

    “Missed ing him already?” 

    “Which one? I’ve ed a lot of men, you know.” 

    The mafia boss just smiled widely, “you know which one.” 

    Finally, Mark moved his head to look up at the Englishman, “which one?” The agent asked again. 

    “His Majesty,” Daniel replied, voice soft and sweet with the adored accent, “Chairman Park.” 

    “What are you talking about?” Mark countered, showing no absolute reaction. 

    Daniel laughed and clapped his two hands together, applauding Mark’s incredible acting career. “World System, Tuan. World System.” 

    Those two words. Nothing could get an honest reaction out of Mark. But those two words alone hit straight home. The chains rattled furiously as Mark tried to reached Daniel. Adrenaline fueled his entire body as Mark actively lunged forward, like a hungry beast seeing raw meat for the first time in a while. 

    One of the guard behind Daniel took action and kicked Mark’s side, causing the agent to groaned loudly and backed away as he clutched his torso, hissing and glaring at the hateful figure in front of him. Daniel bended his knees and squatted down to Mark’s level, snickering like a happy child. The man grabbed Mark’s chin and said through a mouth full of teeth, “awe, do you miss your Master this much? Poor boy, poor baby, what to do with you…” 

    Mark spat, saliva mixed with blood sticked to the sleeve of Daniel’s suit. “ you.” 

    Irritated by the dirtiness, Daniel didn’t hesitate and slapped Mark hard across the agent’s already bruised face. The mafia boss stood up, wiping his sleeve with a handkerchief. “You’ve got no manners. You are a dog. Chained up like one, too.” 

    “What are you going to do?” Mark asked, his body had already gave out from all the struggling. 

    “What I'm going to do?” Daniel laughed, “let’s see… What could I do… Ah! That’s right!” The enthusiasm in the Britain’s voice disgusts Mark. “You know, technology has been advancing. Like a lot. I’m talking about surgeries, cloning, transforming, you know what I’m saying?” 

    “You’re sick,” Mark glared through the nest of hair sticking against his skin full of sweats and blood. 

    “I have to do what I have to, Mark. Why can’t you understand that? I need Jinyoung. I need those codes. But if I can’t directly get them, then I’ll do it indirectly.” 

    “You can’t.” 

    “Oh, come on, Mark, don’t lose hope so fast! That’s no fun.” 

    The agent grinned, “I’m telling you. You. Can’t.” 

    “You don’t know that.” 

    “I do.” 

    Turning around, Daniel launched a surprised kick right in Mark’s stomach. “You sure love to talk.” 

    Mark was coughing out more blood now. He held his stomach, doing everything he could to suppress the urge to cry out. Instead, his bloodied canines bared beautifully as he laughed wholeheartedly. His cheerful laughs bounced off the secluded walls of his prison. Like a madman, Mark just kept on laughing. 

    Balling his fists, Daniel couldn’t stand being laughed at. Especially when Mark’s laughters were like music to a person’s ears. So lighthearted and genuine. Almost as if the composed agent really went crazy. Swallowing down his anger, Daniel turned away from the scene, he ordered his guards, “feed him well. We’re returning him to where he belongs. Returning him to Park Jinyoung, his husband by papers.” 

    The door slammed shut once again, leaving Mark alone, drowning in his own lunatic breakdown, regretting the day he had left his one and only home. 

===

    The clock barely read four a.m. before Mark rose from their bed. He looked over to his side and found his husband still sounded asleep, arm draping over and holding tight onto him. Mark sighed softly and poked Jinyoung’s exposed stomach, earning a whine from the younger’s pouty lips. The effects went reversed as Jinyoung scooted even closer, taking all the body heat he could get. Mark sighed again, feeling the icky and stickiness resulted from last night, but didn’t have the heart to push his cute husband away. So, he opted to lie still for awhile. 

    But as minutes passed, Mark was really getting uncomfortable and with the way Jinyoung unconsciously rubbing against him. They’re both for ’s sake. The feeling was even more intense. Mark could handled it better when he’s asleep, because, well, he’s asleep. But he’s clearly awake now, so all self-control just flew out the window. Mark cursed under his breath. They’ve talked about this. About Jinyoung’s habit when he’s deep into his sleep. Jinyoung’s selfish habit… 

    Having enough of this, Mark prayed for his life as he carefully saved himself from his husband’s needy hold. It took quite a few tries, but efforts were paid off in the end. Mark left Jinyoung rubbing and whining against his pillow before quietly retreated into the restroom. 

    After a quick shower, Mark stepped out with a towel wrapping around his waist. Stealing a quick, adoring, look at his sleeping husband, Mark smiled and headed over to their walk-in closet. It didn’t took long for him to pick out a cream button-up and black jeans. It took even less for Mark to slipped them on. Rolling up the sleeves to his elbows to complete his look, Mark smirked at his reflection, proudly gelled his hair in a captivating style. He knew it himself how stunning he looks. 

    Mark pulled out a suitcase that was stacked away under all of Jinyoung’s expensive clothes that he hadn’t even worn once, but decided to throw out just because he didn’t like them anymore; Mark had suggested to keep them, because it’ll be a waste to throw them out. Didn’t have enough time to pick what to pack, Mark just grabbed a whole bunch of shirts and jeans and threw them into the suitcase, probably grabbed some of Jinyoung’s clothes on accident. Mark sighed for the umpteenth time that morning, regretting not packing the night before. But then again, he was too caught up in Jinyoung’s loving kisses and hotness last night anyways. Besides, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore. 

    Carrying the heavy suitcase on his shoulders as he proceeded downstairs, Mark tried to keep his mouth shut and footsteps light. He thanked God for making out the doors without waking up Jinyoung. Mark popped open the trunk and fit his suitcase inside, then slammed it close. He made his way back into the house. Up the stairs. 

    He sat by Jinyoung’s side on their bed. His eyes soften as he gazed affectionately at his husband, who’s still breathing calmly and drifting peacefully in his own dreamland. God, he will miss this so much. Leaning down, Mark softly kissed Jinyoung’s forehead. “I love you,” he whispered, raw emotions and love pouring like waterfalls from the depths of his heart. 

    The time has come, and he should go. But Mark couldn’t help himself but stared at Jinyoung a little longer, taking in everything, engraving everything within his mind, painting everything in his own selfish canvas of lovesick. 

    “I love you,” Mark repeated, a little louder, as his fingers softly Jinyoung’s cheek, who unconsciously leaned into the sweet touch and sighed in content. 

    Although it hurts Mark’s heart, he forced himself to leave. With one last look at his love, Mark closed their bedroom’s door. 

    Before Mark could change his mind about leaving secretly, the reluctant part of himself had already started the engine. Mark quickly drove out of the driveway. Gripping onto his steering wheel, Mark started to feel the regrets chewing on his flesh. But what else could he do? 

    “Hello? Jaebum?” Mark only realized that his best friend didn’t picked up after the monotone, robotic, voice of the automator. Well, he’s fine with leaving a voicemail. “Hey, Jaebum. I’m leaving… You should know what I’m leaving for… It’s an undercover mission, very crucial, I can’t spare a lot of details. I’m calling to say the usual whenever I’m gone. Feed Jinyoungie for me? Cook a lot and pack some and come over. Let Youngjae come over often, too. Do sleep-overs. I don’t know. Just… Just look after him for me… Because… Jaebum, I… I don’t know when I’m coming back… So, please, take care of him. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible. But until then, Jinyoungie is in you guys’ care. If he’s thinner and paler and looks like he just woke up from the dead when I comes back, I’m going to skin both of you alive. Okay, bye for now. Don’t try to contact me again, because you can’t anyways.” 

    Throwing his phone to somewhere in the backseats of his car, Mark continued on with determination. He’s already late to his mission. He can’t afford for anything else to go wrong. Because if something goes wrong, then there isn’t a definite guarantee of his return.