Sehun nervously taps his foot as he waits beside Kai in the waiting room, some of the other boys opposite them. He glances at the clock. They’ve all been there overnight for any news of their wounded members. Pretty much everyone but Krystal, Chanyeol, D.O, Amber, and Lay needed to be patched up or given stitches. But the only two who needed to go into surgery are Suho and Chen.

“Your brother is gonna be fine, Sehun,” Kai speaks up. “Suho’s a really tough guy.” Sehun slowly nods and closes his eyes. He barely moves when Kai’s hand entwines with his own. “Hey,”  He can feel his leader lean over and whisper softly in his ear. “I feel the same.”

“What?” Sehun opens his eyes and looks at him, staring at the weak smile on his face. He tries to say something but his mind is blank. Kai looks forward again, tightening his grip on Sehun’s hand. He slowly smiles as well; his stomach fluttering. He looks at the whole wall and clears his throat. “Was that your declaration of your love or the death of that man?”

“Well, that was part of it,” The leader keeps his voice down. “I wasn’t able to get Zitao’s head on a platter for you. So…”

Sehun clears his throat, glancing at the other gang members. They’re either silent or talking quietly with each other. He leans his head on Kai’s shoulder. “You think Chanyeol will be ok? Baek took him home early and he was still basically a husk.”

“He will be,” Kai responds. “He looked tough but...it hurt him.”

“Yeah…a-and Chen?”

“Xiumin is with him,” he shrugs. “Stuck in a hospital bed but he’s fine; Come on, you were here.”

“Well, maybe I want reassurance, Jongin.”

Kai scoffs when he uses his real name. “You gotta real name drop me here?” Sehun smirks at him as his boyfriend wraps an arm around him. “Stop worrying, okay? We’ve been here hundreds of times.”

“The notorious gang leaders known as King and Sovereign were found on the roof of a local hotel after several gunshots were heard from within.” Sehun turns his attention to the TV. A woman stands beside King and Sovereign’s photos. “The Sovereign had been found with two gunshots and one stab wound. Unconscious but alive, King was not so lucky. The man was found mere feet away from the other gang leader. Authorities say that the two leaders were thought to be business partners but when gunshots ensued after loud explosions at three yesterday, it turned out to be another gang war.”

“So it worked,” Kai says, looking up as well. “They thought it was just the two of them huh? It helps that Sovereign and King had beef in the past. “

When a nurse walks out, Sehun is the first one to stand and quickly greet her. “How is he?!” he asks and she smiles.

“Are any of you family?

“I’m his brother,” Sehun says without skipping a beat.

She nods. “He’s stable and recovering.” The nurse leads Sehun inside. As soon as he enters, Suho sits up and smiles at him. Sehun watches as the nurse closes the door as leaves. He approaches the hospital bed. 

“Hey, Junmyeon…”

“Hey, Sehuna,” Suho greets before glancing at the TV; the news is on. “Who ended up shooting them?”

“Well…” Sehun looks at it as well. “Um...Chanyeol actually shot them both.”

Suho raises a brow. “Chanyeol did?” When the boy nods, he sighs and leans back. “I see...he had to shoot his father after all.”

Sehun looks at the floor as he slowly sits. “He...saved our lives,” he whispers. “I...I almost,” He takes a deep breath, remembering how he could see down the barrel of the gun. “I was seconds from getting shot in my head.”

“What?”

Sehun shakes his head. “I-I had no idea Chanyeol was coming, Junmyeon,” he explains quietly. “So when King went to shoot Kai, I convinced him to shoot me first.”

Suho stares at him for a long moment. “Why would you...?”

“I thought while he was busy with me, Kai could get free,” Sehun mutters. “He knows how to…”

“You were ready to just sacrifice yourself for him?” Sehun nods and his brother chuckles. “You really were born a gangster.”

“No,” Sehun looks up. “It had nothing to do with that. I’m... I’m in love with him, Junmyeon. If King shot me first so that Kai could live, I was ready...to do that for him.” Suho remains silent before bursting out into laughter; causing Sehun to glare at him. “Why is that funny?!”

“Sorry, sorry!” He waves his hand. “I didn’t mean to laugh, honestly!”

“Well, you are!”

Suho shakes his head. “It’s so funny that you fell for a feared gang leader...but more than that, you need it. Both of you do. I’m...happy, for both of you. Kai needs it,” he admits. “And so do you.” 

“What do you mean?”

“In the beginning, you were pretty impulsive,” Suho observes. “You...have depression, don’t you?”

Sehun looks down at his hand. “I...I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Well, I have an interest in psychology and from what I've seen, you may. You had seemed down and hopeless.” Down and hopeless. That sounded about right. “You’re literally always tired and yet I barely see you sleep. You have a ty appetite, don't seem to eat much.” Sehun rests his elbow on the bed and his cheek in his hand. He’s too tired to disagree. He guesses all of it sounds like him. But he feels like he’s changed a bit. Like he found a purpose with this gang. If anyone asked him, he’d easily consider them his family; all of them. Strange Lay, Shady Chen. Sweet Xiumin, scary D.O. Chanyeol is an extremely surprising man but him as well. He already considers Suho and Baekhyun family. As for Kai? Of course. And while the two threats are over, he can’t imagine doing anything else. No. This is what Sehun is meant to do; he can feel it. Sehun lays his head on Suho’s lap, closing his eyes. His brother gently his hair for a minute or two. A huge far cry from when that disgusting Sovereign did it. “Sehuna.”

“Hmm…?”

“Now that the two gangs have been dealt with…”

“Yes?”

“Baekhyun and you can focus on school now!” Suho practically sings happily.

Sehun buries his face into his brother’s blankets; letting out a loud, groan. He has to go back to that stupid place with those stupid people. Wear that stupid uniform and pretend he’s actually learning . “Why couldn’t King have shot meee?!”

“That’s not funny,” Suho says but he still laughs regardless. Sehun thinks it’s so great and awesome that he can find humor in the boy’s damn misery. 

Sehun sits on a bench outside of the school, staring as students leave. He plays with his knife, stabbing it into the wood beneath him. He smiles and stops when Baekhyun approaches and sits beside him.  “Hey, Baek.”

“School life agreeing with Taemin and You?” Baekhyun asks and Sehun grumbles.

“No,” he mumbles. “It’s boring. Tae’s so lucky he gets to homeschool…”

“Junmyeon wouldn’t let you?”

“No…”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” His friend laughs. “Kai picks you up every day, right?” Sehun nods. “And all those scandalous rumors about you dating an older man…” This makes Sehun snort. “And how you’re a badass delinquent now.”

“A delinquent badass dating an older man,” Sehun hums as he leans back. “I like it but Kai isn’t much older than us.”

“No,” Baekhyun shrugs. “He dropped out of high school. But people here just think he’s some badass that you’re dating.”

Sehun scoffs. “He IS a badass I’m dating.”

“Speaking of which,” Baekhyun fishes around in his pockets. Sehun’s heart drops when he sees the small, black object King had played for him. A recorder. “Chanyeol listened to it and...said it belonged to you.”

"Really?” Sehun hesitantly takes it when handed to him. 

"He edited out the bad parts," Baekhyun stands up and smiles. "I'll see you later, Hun. I'll buy you some bubble tea tomorrow." Sehun watches his best friend walk off and back into the school. He looks down at the recorder. He hates it and he hates the man it belonged to. He swallows hard as he stabs his knife into the bench before slowly clicking the red play button. It's silent for a few moments before someone speaks up.

"Sehun," His father says and Sehun inhales a sharp breath. "Sehun, I-if you...if they find you and make you hear this," He takes a deep breath. He sounds pained, tired, scared. "I'm sorry, son. I'm so, so sorry." Sehun closes his eyes. "I failed your mother as a husband, and I failed you...as a...father." That tightening in Sehun's chest starts up again as he tries to not cry again. “I'm...I'm disgusted with...myself; who I’ve...became," His father continues. "I know you...you must hate me and- and I don't blame you, Sehun. But I want..you to know," He takes a deep breath, but it's shaky and hesitant. "I love you, I love my new step-son. I love my new wife....and I pray...you never have to hear this..." And then silence. As the recording stops, Sehun opens his eyes and stares down at it; Chanyeol had deleted the previous recording; all of the torture and any signs of King. He smiles tightly and wipes his eyes, trying his hardest to not cry. "Dad..." Sehun murmurs. He loved Sehun. He really loved him.

A loud car horn tears Sehun away from his thoughts and gets the attention of several students nearby. He smiles at the black, topless convertible that sat out from; Kai sitting in the driver's seat. He lifts his black sunglasses and gives Sehun a smirk. People stare as Sehun pulls out his knife and grabs his back before heading for the car and getting in. “We have an audience,” Kai comments, motioning to the onlookers. Sehun just shrugs and grabs the man by his jacket, pulling him in for a heated kiss, regardless of the staring.

Kai pulls back a moment later and a brow. “Some of the Sovereign's boys are pissed and starting to start some trouble. “Should be dangerous but uh…” He takes a gun from his jacket and grins. “You up for it?

Sehun doesn’t even have to think about it. School almost brought him to tear with how boring it is. And, As D.O says, Sehun needs this so he doesn’t get soft. “Let’s go have some fun.”

“Good,” Kai leans back, kissing his cheek before putting the car into drive. “That’s what I like to hear, baby.”

------------------

Yaaay

This is one of my favorite fanfics of mine, so I wanted to give it a proper revisit before I begin the sequel. :) Thanks for rereading to reading for the first time and keep a lookout for the sequel, Set On Fire