Woohyun’s eyes widened, staring at Sungjong like he just produced a rhinoceros from his pocket.

“Are you crazy?! That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard! Why would you even think that I like him? I’m straight!” Woohyun was so agitated that he has accidentally pulled a muscle in his thigh. “Ahhh my body’s still aching ever since yesterday. He must’ve lied about the physical test just to torture me, he’s really a devil!” He whined.

“You don’t have to get so worked up, I’m sorry for the wrong assumption. Woohyun ah, if one day you ever like someone, don’t bother denying as it’ll only make things worse. You’ve to be brave, I don’t want you to end up like me.” Sungjong advised and the look in his eyes was so lonesome, Woohyun noticed it.

“Sungjong, are you okay?”

A look of concern sprawled over his face. Sungjong nodded his head with a forced smile.

“Let’s go back to class now before Ms Wong gives us demerit points for being late.” As much as Woohyun wanted him to spill out the beans, Sungjong was right.

I’ll ask him about it the next time.

The door swung open and Sunggyu raised his head in annoyance, ready to fire whoever didn’t have the basic courtesy to knock.

He found himself gasping instead.

A few hours ago, Dongwoo accompanied Woohyun to the salon for a haircut. It was Sunggyu’s order, he wanted the thief to appear decent enough in front of his father.

“You dyed your hair?!”

Sunggyu exclaimed in astonishment. He didn’t remember giving him the permission to change his hair colour. Furthermore, Dongwoo was supposed to keep an eye on him.

Woohyun’s fringe was combed up and swept to the side. He looked different when he wore a grey blazer over his white buttoned shirt and black trousers. If he was an heir, he’ll be a dashing one.

“Doesn’t it suit me? The hairdresser was the one who chose the colour for me, she has good taste!” Woohyun ran his fingers through his silky hair.

“Where’s Jang Dongwoo and are you sure the school will allow this hair colour?” Sunggyu questioned him. There was an irritated look on his face when Woohyun shrugged his shoulders innocently.

He has never dyed his hair before. Hence, when the hairdresser asked him, he agreed excitedly without a second thought. Meanwhile, Dongwoo had accidentally dozed off on the armchair. When he came back to the office, he apologised to Sunggyu several times.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Woohyun, the new Intern.”

Woohyun bowed politely to his colleagues and shook hands with them.

“He’s cute!” The young ladies fangirled and he smiled awkwardly.

“Woah who’s this attractive guy?” Jonghyun teased with a sneer, causing Woohyun to chuckle.

He has a dimple? Sunggyu stared at that deep indention near the corner of Woohyun’s mouth upon his cheek. This kid really looks good with blond hair.

“If anyone treats you badly, inform me. I’ll send a request to the Chairman for you to work by my side and I shall protect you,” Jonghyun winked and Sunggyu rolled his eyes. Jonghyun was biual and Kim Corporate’s heartbreaker. Not only was he humorous, but he also possessed a silver tongue which charmed people into falling head over heels for him.

“Is our President jealous?” He smirked, even though he knew the heir’s ual preference and that he was just sick of his flirtatious acts.

“Basically, this is the Marketing Department. We’re responsible for advertising and promoting products to attract our prospects.” Sunggyu ignored Jonghyun.

“What about the Sales Department?”

Woohyun asked and the atmosphere instantly became tense. Nobody dared to utter a word and they pretended to be engrossed in their work. He saw Dongwoo tapping his index finger against his lips, gesturing him to keep quiet. Did I say something wrong?

Sunggyu noted his stressed expression. “Let’s go to the Chairman’s office now.” He headed to a special elevator and Woohyun followed behind quietly. They reached the highest level of the building and the lift opened directly outside a private room.

“He’s the Chairman’s secretary, Kim Kibum-ssi and this is our new Intern, Shin Woohyun.” Sunggyu introduced them. Kibum’s desk was near to the door.

He stood up. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Na- Sorry, a slip of tongue, I mean Shin Woohyun-ssi” Kibum gave a sweet smile as he shook his hand confidently. This caused Woohyun to frown.

He sounds suspicious, I better stay away from him.

Taehyun’s office was twice as big as Sunggyu’s and the interior layout was grand and classy. Even the air seemed a lot more superior in this room as compared to the rest of the building.

“Sunggyu ah, the Intern you hired is good looking,” Woohyun simpered and Taehyun added on, “but such people are usually dumb.” The intern stiffened under his powerful aura and Sunggyu compressed his lips. I agree that’s why this thief was caught.

“Tell me your name,” Taehyun commanded while studying an analysis report on the company’s performance. The line graph represented the sales and they have been declining.

“I’m Woohyun.” His pupils dilated. “Woohyun? What’s your last name?” Woohyun’s heart raced. Did he find out about Infinity Free Souls?

“Shin.”

Taehyun’s face fell and Woohyun let out a breath that he had held unknowingly.

“Send me a copy of your report card after the semester.” Taehyun returned to his usual strict self.

Woohyun was on the way to class when he saw the girl he had rescued on the first day of school and landed himself in hot water. She’s adorable and petite. He wanted to know if Young Jae was still bothering her, so he trailed after her.

“Sae Ron, did you thank your Prince Charming and ask him out on a date yet?” Another girl approached her before Woohyun could.

“I wanted to but guess who I saw him with in the canteen!” Woohyun didn’t want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but he felt that it was even ruder to interrupt them.

“Who?” Sae Ron’s friend asked curiously, nudging her arm with her elbow.

Typical girls who love to gossip. Maybe I should leave. He his heel.

“Lee Sungjong, the .”

Sae Ron whispered, but Woohyun still managed to catch it. He stood rooted to the ground, stunned and speechless.

•••

Woohyun paced around in circles, waiting for Sungjong impatiently. It has been 15 minutes and his friend was nowhere to be seen. He needed to find out the truth. If he was wrongfully accused because they were jealous of his prettiness, I’ll tell them off for calling him names.

“Woohyun? Hey man, I could barely recognise you from far. I love your blond hair! And were you waiting for me?”

He immediately lifted his gaze.

“Sungjong, are you gay?” He blurted out without thinking.

Blood drained from Sungjong’s face and his smile dropped. “Who told you that?”

Aish Nam Woohyun, why didn’t you consider his feelings before asking? You’re such a pabo!

“I overheard it from someone, but I think she’s being jealous of you. They can’t help it since our Joongie is such a cutie~” Woohyun tried to lighten his mood and failed.

Sungjong’s lower lip began to quiver as words slowly made out of his mouth.

“Yes, I-I like guys.”

Woohyun looked like he’d just received a slap across his face. Sungjong thought back of those pranks he had encountered in middle school. Many students made fun of him after finding out that he was homoual. It was meant to be kept as a secret until it was leaked out, thanks to his butthurt ex. He bit his lips but the stubborn tears rolled down and he hurriedly scrubbed them from his face. He knew those tears would lead to sympathy and he didn’t need it from anyone.

Woohyun’s heart sank. He had a guilty conscience in hurting Sungjong.

“Sungjong, I’m so sorry I-” Before he could finish his sentence, Sungjong fled from the hallway. He chased after him instantaneously. After running for miles, he was panting heavily, trying to catch his breath while recalling what Sunggyu had told him. “Faster! You’re so slow! Are you a snail? Even a tortoise can be faster than you!”

“Urgh, he’s right, I really need to train my stamina!” Woohyun scolded himself furiously for losing Sungjong.

“SHIN WOOHYUN”

He was like a deer caught in headlights. He braced himself and whipped his head around, only to end up with a ballad fist colliding with his cheek.

He stumbled.

A sudden gush of pain jolted through his body and he could taste the metallic blood pooling under his tongue. “What the hell is that for?!” He yelled.

Young Jae tugged his collar, his raw voice brutal against Woohyun’s ears and his eyes had literally blazed with savage fire. “I knew you’re no different from them! I should’ve murdered you on your first day!” In mere seconds, punches and kicks were thrown by the gang, beating Woohyun to a pulp.

He wanted to tell them to stop as he had no idea what exactly was going on, but the word was tied on his tongue. He was seen as defenceless and vulnerable. He covered his face with his arms to hide from humiliation. Students who witnessed the riot quickly escaped to their classrooms. It was an unfair fight, but nobody dared to voice out to the top fighter because it was like walking into a lion’s den.

Woohyun’s body jarred with each blow and the pain seared through his skin, invoking the hidden memories that he wished to erase so badly.

His childhood…

His father was a successful businessman and his mother was a homemaker. They doted on their two children, Boohyun and Woohyun. Boohyun was 10 years older than him. They were a happy and loving family.

Until one day, the whole world collapsed upon him.

They were on a road trip in a 7-seater car, chatting happily about their planned schedule. All of a sudden, a wild deer ran across the road absent-mindedly. To avoid killing the innocent life, the car veered abruptly to the right and crashed entirely into a tree. The vehicle’s windows were shattered into pieces and clouds of smoke blasted out from the exhaust pipe. A tragic accident happened somewhere deserted.

“H-Hyung,” the 5 years old Woohyun’s voice trembled uncontrollably, shaking his brother’s arm with his tiny hand. His small body was limp from the huge impact, but there was not much injury since Boohyun had shielded him with his arms. He was scared when he saw blood trickled down his brother’s paper white face and started wailing. Boohyun’s eyes fluttered open.

He glanced weakly at his parents on the front seats, lying lifelessly in a bloody mess, and cried his heart out. Woohyun hugged him as tight as he could. “Hyung, don’t cry.” He didn’t understand the meaning of passing away at that time. Boohyun wiped his tears away when he smelt the strong gasoline.

“Hyun ah, you must take good care of yourself and always remember appa, eomma and hyung love you very much.” He used his remaining strength to open the car door and shove Woohyun out. Boohyun knew all of them couldn’t make it out alive except Woohyun.

The latter whimpered as his delicate palms scraped against the rough concrete surface and bled. He was horrified when he heard a loud explosion afterwards. He turned his head back and saw the car was on fire. He didn’t know what to do, except to sob. He felt useless.

He learnt the definitions of death and orphan in the hard way.

If only I had more strength, maybe I would’ve been able to save hyung too. Tears clouded his vision and he blamed himself.

Soon, he was losing consciousness. The agony from his chest whenever his heart clenched was unbearable. Nothing hurts more than being helpless in the face of his loved ones’ suffering. This time, there was no mission or Jungyeop to ease this heartache away.

“Hoya! Wake up!”

Howon forced his eyes to open. The surrounding was pitch black but he could still see the outline of Sungyeol. What happened? It took him a few seconds to figure out that they were abducted. A tidal wave of fear swelled inside of him and frightening thoughts ran through his mind.

“The door is locked dammit! I don’t have anything with me right now to break open it.” Sungyeol groaned in frustration.

“Yeol, could it be those heirs taking revenge on us for stealing their money? Maybe they will skin us alive. We’re so dead!” A chill ran down his spine and Howon shivered.

“I’ve a feeling that the kidnapper is Kim Myungsoo, that bastard!” Sungyeol shouted in infuriation and Howon covered his mouth to prevent anyone from listening. It would only add fuel to the fire if the person was really Myungsoo. Did they lock Woohyun up as well?

He was internally freaking out when he heard shuffling of footsteps and the door flung open, revealing the appearance of the kidnapper.

“O…Old man?”

Sungyeol crunched his eyebrows and Howon scrunched his face in confusion.

“I’m sorry for using this dirty method to bring you guys back. I had no other choice, I’m so worried.” Jungyeop heaved a heavy sigh, his eyes were filled with remorse. “Don’t just disappear like that next time.”

“I’ll forgive you if you promise not to abandon Hyun,” Howon replied.

“Hoya, you should know that there’s nothing I can do to help Hyun. Like I mentioned in the meeting-” Howon cut him off. “You can’t or you don’t want to?” His nostrils flared.

“Hoya, please don’t misinterpret my words. Infinity Free Souls is my top priority, each and every one of you is important to me.” Jungyeop caressed Howon’s hand and continued. “It’s impossible for me to sacrifice all the members’ lives for Hyun’s mishap. Kim Corporate’s Chairman won’t let us off if he ever finds out about us. Why can’t you just drop the subject and move on? Trust me. As time goes by, we’ll be fine without him.” He persuaded desperately.

“Over my dead body!” Howon brushed his hand away. “I finally saw your true colours and I’m so disappointed in you right now. Jungyeop-ssi, thank you for taking care of me all these years.” He bowed sincerely before his tone changed. “I’ve treated you as my family member but I guess it isn’t mutual. You were merely using us for your own benefit and when something goes wrong, you’ll abandon us by coming up with a bunch of excuses. From now onwards, I’m no longer part of Infinity Free Souls anymore, we will go separate ways.” Howon sniffed. “I believe Hyun is at somewhere waiting for his old man to save him out, but it isn’t gonna happen.” He added bitterly before he left.

“Old man, I’m so disappointed in you as well. You used to be kind and caring to us as if we were like your children, was it all an act of yours? It’s true that people change but memories don’t. I’ll always treasure the time we had spent together. Thank you for raising me up and bringing me into Infinity Free Souls.” Sungyeol bowed and followed Howon.

Their words were like cold shards stabbing into Jungyeop’s heart.

“I’ve underestimated their strong bond.”

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Note: Thank you so much for the support! ♡ Hope you enjoy reading my story and do leave a comment ;)

Handsome Hyun in blond (｡♥‿♥｡)