Xiumin 

March 26 1990

Dealer

The knock on the door was loud and urgent as Xiumin picked it up over the noise of his vacuum. He was in the middle of his spring cleaning, which to be honest is every weekend or if he tried really hard through the exhaustion of work and his daily life; everyday. He pressed the button on the handle of his favourite item and leant it up against the couch and went over to the white rectangular door of his apartment. 

The knocks continue. "I'm coming!" he shouts "don't break my door down." He twists the steel handle and opens the door a fraction to see who was abusing the poor wood and his eyes grow wide. "Luhan!?" he exclaims as he takes in the males state; bruised face and ripped clothing, he was holding a bundle in his arms and he looked from side to side nervously before he clambers under Xiumin's arm and into the small space. 

"Luhan, what the hell happened? Why are you hurt?" Xiumin follows his friend from college to his small living room. His friend says nothing as he sets the bundle on to the table and Xiumin looks at it closer; it was a bag. "Luhan?" he tries again feeling a bit anxious under the males silence and shocking appearance. 

Finally he speaks "Xiu, I need a favor" he turns to the short male who was only a year younger. Xiumin's eyebrow quirks up "what is it? And will you please tell me why you look like you've been mugged?" he asks. 

Luhan shakes his head so frantically Xiumin thinks he might get bad whiplash. "I can't, I don't want you to get involved Xiu but I really need your help" Xiumin walks over to where his friend is visably shaking and despite himself not being big on physical affection; wraps his arms around him feeling more than concerned for his friend. What happened and why can't he tell him? Who did this to him, what's with the bag? All these questions plague his mind at once. 

"What is it Luhan?" he urges for his friend to stop nervously looking around and talk to him. He hasn't seen the male in over a year and Xiumin had chalked it up to him going about his life and getting it together but looking at him now really has him questioning his friends activities. 

"I need you to bring this to somebody" Luhan gestures to the bag and Xiumin's eyes flit to it. "What is that, bring it to who?" Luhan picks up the bag and s it towards Xiumin, " I can't stay here for long, they'll track this place down" he shakes his head "that bag is full of drugs, of all kinds and I'm supposed to bring it to a man for some supplies but everything has gone wrong and now our group is being tracked down, some of my partners have been taken and I-" he stops abruptly to take a deep breath and Xiumin just stares at him with wide, confused eyes. 

"Luhan, you do drugs what the hell!?" Xiumin was in disbelief, when did his friend get into that lifestyle? He holds the bag out to Luhan's shaking his head "no, I can't Luhan. I want nothing to do with that scene, I don't know what you've gotten yourself into but I don't want any part in it" when Luhan looks at him fully Xiumin is taken aback by the pleading, desperate look in his eyes and his hand lowers. 

"Please Xiu. I have no one else to ask, we are all in hiding, running around the city in hopes of not getting caught. Something bad is happening Xiumin, something bad is coming to the city and those that live down in the slumps are disappearing, mostly those who are in head positions and are known around the dark scene. Some are saying they've seen men in black taking some in the night" Luhan speaks rapidly. "No one knows who you are Xiu, if you do this for me my men won't be on the hit list of two enemies, one being a total mystery. There's an apartment downtown we stay in, some of them are waiting for me but I can't go back there in fear of someone taking me in the night or coming for any of them. I don't want to leave all of them with no leader so I want you to go there and tell them I sent you, tell them that you'll deliver the bag, please Xiu" Luhan practically begs, something the older male has never done in all the time Xiumin has known him.

Xiumin didn't know what to say, his mind was blank as Luhan gave him all that information, what the hell was he supposed to do? He wanted no part in this but at the same time his friend looked so torn and scared, they've always had each others backs since college, he couldn't just disappoint him. And if all this was true and someone was after him, shouldn't he do everything he could to keep his friend out of trouble? Even if he chose a life of scandal? Xiumin looks down at the bag in his hands, fairly heavy; drugs? He's never come into contact with them, ever and suddenly going downtown where this activity practically is worshipped to assure a bunch of mislead kids that they won't be left to fend for themselves makes him feel sick. Is this really what his life has lead up to? This once peaceful Saturday morning of him just cleaning his home, turning into a botched drug run request from his friend who just showed up on his doorstep from a years hiatus in his life?

Xiumin sighs. "Okay" he says uncomfortably and uncertain. He is met with tight arms gripping him and his face is shoved into the chest of the older, "thank you so much, Xiu. I owe you".

Luhan pats him on his arms before giving him the address of the apartment. He walks to the front door before turning around "I'll see you, Xiu" he bids farewell before slipping out of Xiumin's apartment; leaving the boy feeling all sorts of conflicted feelings but one towered over the rest, fear.

Xiumin never did see Luhan after that. He did as his friend wanted and went to the apartment he was addressed to find a handful of people sitting inside. As he walked through the doors they all lifted their weapons on him but lowered them instantly as Xiumin held up the bag and told them Luhan sent him and what the older had told him and why he wasn't coming back. Most were visably upset at the news and Xiumin felt a bit bad.

They soon filled Xiumin in on the ropes after they absorbed what the male said and introduced theirselves. Xiumin had thought they were a fairly nice crew for a bunch of drug heads. They delivered the bag the same night to this brute male that was housed in an abandoned garage with his own set of partners, the trade had gone less than smoothly as the brute male intended to kill them all despite getting his bag of drugs. Xiumin was scared to death as he hunched behind a tool cabinet as the others shot and fought, he stared in horror. What had Luhan been doing? Why are these kids not at home bothering their parents but killing instead? Everything was so overwhelming.

Xiumin had planned to just do that one deed and leave and after that whole debacle where he saw people drop dead on the ground, their red blood just flowing out, his vow was stronger. But as he looked at the group who watched him puzzled and lost as he stated his leave he felt a pang in his chest. He really hated kids or anyone younger than him, they always felt entitled and like they were right about everything even though they didn't really know jack but somehow this bunch, after seeing some of them fall lifeless on a shabby garage floor left pity in his chest. Luhan what the were you doing with these kids? His hand dropped from the doorknob of the apartment door. 

Soon Xiumin was caught up in the lifestyle, and he became a sort of new leader for the group. They went on runs, sold drugs that they had or bought them off of others although sometimes those trades didn't go smoothly and Xiumin unfortunately saw more people fall lifeless as he continued in the line of work. Xiumin started to take drugs on his own and loved it surprisingly, the far away feeling you get as you exit reality; where he could pretend he wasn't becoming less and less sympathetic with each dead body he happened to come upon. Eventually he got himself a gun and asked one of his partners to teach him to use it, he started entering the fights they got caught up in getting more and more skilled as time passed, soon the lifestyle Xiumin was now in consumed him wholly and the him he used be before this was a distant dream. 

But then came the day he really turned into a monster. 

It was noon when he was counting their bags of money and looking over the packs of substances only to frown. "Max" he called and soon the tall good looking male Xiumin has slept with on occasion came bounding over. "What?" he asks, face flat. 

"Why are we down a few thousand bucks? And some of the red Zarins are missing. We have to sell those tonight" Xiumin looks at their stuff then back at the male who only quirked an eyebrow and Xiumin loved that. 

"I don't know, I didn't touch anything. Taemin and I counted and checked the inventory before stashing them away" he shrugged. Xiumin frowned, "then why are there things missing?".

"Why don't you ask everyone?" Max offered coming behind Xiumin to wrap his arms around the shorter, running his hands dangerously low over Xiumin's belt, "but can you do it later? Because you look absolutely hot when you're confused and mad" he says into his ear. Xiumin smiles devilishly but moves from his hold to turn to him. "If someone is stealing from the group, I want to know, Max. And you distracting me isn't helping your case" the shorter says evenly and Max looked at him a while before a soft smirk climbs to his lips and he scoffs lazily. 

Xiumin calls everyone out and lines them up, he briefs them on the situation with a firm look and voice, most deny everything pretty quickly; some nervous and rightfully so bad he was about to end it and send everyone back to work but as Xiumin's eyes land on Onew, a short male who looks innocent and like he should be sitting around a desk reading novels and studying darts his eyes to Xiumin and then quickly around the room. Xiumin could practically hear his heartbeat from where he stood and see sweat glisten over his forehead, Xiumin frowns and walks over. 

"Onew? Are you okay buddy? You look tense, it's just a drilling so I can know no one stole from us" Xiumin his head to the side, willing the male to look at him; he does. Xiumin's voice sounds eerily calm as he addresses the male, the shorter didn't know when he obtained such a persona but he wore it like it was a second skin, the whole leader who never yelled or shouted; who was laid back but was obviously in charge with an iron grip. 

"I know, and I said I didn't do it" Onew states, his hands in fists at his sides and Xiumin just stares at him, narrowing his eyes slowly. 

"I know. You're not that kind of guy Onew, that'll just betray your partners like that. I know we found you worse for wear on a run but nothing is impossible when money is involved for ones own benefit" Xiumin accuses smoothly, stepping closer to a now trembling male seeing if he would take the bait. He does. 

"It wasn't for my benefit, it was for u-" he didn't get to finish because Xiumin unclips his gun and pulls the trigger, no hesitation. Months ago shooting someone would not have even crossed his mind but he wasn't the same person, he's known that for a while now. His partners have been telling him but he's been paying no attention, he was consumed. Anger bubbles in his throat as he stares at the frozen shocked look on the small males face who thought he could get away with his ordeals, bullet lodged neatly in his forehead. Blood was spilling on the floor and that made Xiumin more angry; he had just cleaned up. 

And so he pulled the trigger again, a bullet into the males chest. His body jerks a little bit, "don't" shot "ever" another shot "steal" and another "from me" one more. He drops his hand and looks at the obviously dead male on the ground with multiple bullet holes and then back at the others who haven't moved, their faces were masked but Xiumin could see some of their shock seep through. 

This wasn't the old Xiumin, the old Xiumin was chucked out the window as soon as he accepted Luhan's request.