Prince of Crime

Daehyun leaned back into the worn, sunken leather couch shoved against the wall in the small bare room. He cocked his head, watching the slender boy sitting in front of a makeup mirror surrounded by large bright light bulbs on the adjacent wall.

The boy played giddily in his purple oversized silk robe. He leaned forward craftily tracing the black liquid eyeliner on his bottom waterline, finishing his look off with a fox eye. He snapped the cap back onto his mascara and dropped it onto the table. His fingers danced over the tray of new lip glosses before grabbing his favorite pink one.

Daehyun smiled, his tongue gliding along his bottom lip. However, his smile faded as he checked the time on his old copper watch. He let out an agitated sigh, but reluctantly stood up. He walked up behind Youngjae who smiled at him through his reflection. “Do you like your new toys?” He rested his hands on the younger’s thin shoulders, slowly working his hands into a massage. Youngjae hummed in response, grabbing his lip liner.

“I have a quick meeting, but I’ll be back.” Daehyun pressed a long kiss on the top of his lover’s soft platinum hair.

The pencil dropped from Youngjae’s hand, his smile fading.

Daehyun’s eyes widened.

“Don’t.” He grabbed Youngjae’s cheeks, squeezing them to keep is smile from disappearing.

The younger’s eyes doed into wide glittering circles, resembling the innocent look he had from when Daehyun first met him.

The elder knelt down in front of him, “It’ll be over when you come down. Then we can go out as promised.”

A full smile filled Youngjae’s lips at his words knowing well that whatever he said, he meant it. He quickly turned back to the mirror and continued with his fun.

Daehyun stood up satisfied and left the small room that was designated for his beau’s playthings.

He straightened his dark purple suit as he walked down the spiral stairs. His suit had originally been a light gray a few weeks ago but had somehow turned a deep violet on its recent trip to the dry cleaners. He killed the cleaner and errand boy for the mistake. However, he still wore it. His Youngjae had been elated by the new look, claiming it to be his favorite suit. So, Daehyun wore it instead of throwing it away.

Daehyun opened the door to the large basement. It was renovated, styled into a dining hall, with walnut brown wood floors, bisque painted walls lined with cedar shelves that held various wines and decorative glass. In the center was a long expensive mahogany table draped with an off-white linen tablecloth.

High profiled men he worked with filled the table, talking boisterously amongst each other, drunk off their wealth and poisoned by the alcohol running through their veins. They were corrupt men, politicians, businessmen, and even health care providers. Daehyun didn’t care about their stupid politics or status. They were more like his suppliers…no…they were his storage units.

Yes.

They hold the things that would eventually become useful to him. He didn’t need them. But in case he wanted to do something grand and special he could just pick from them.

They couldn’t deny him. He knew their secrets; he knew everything about them. Their personal information, their secret affairs, even their passwords that they thought they hid so cleverly. They were nothing but low-profile criminals, leeches that thought they could feed off him only to end up biting off their own tail without even knowing it.

Daehyun sat at the head of the table bored. The men’s obnoxious laughter filled the open space in the room. They clinked large glasses of bears, talking and shouting over each other. It was a party to them. They celebrated the success of their schemes and most importantly the profit they made.

Daehyun didn’t want to be there, but he had to, at least for a few minutes, to remind them that their success wasn’t possible without him.

He staired disinterested at the balding man that talked to him in a loud unkept manner, his words came out half-drunk asking about what project Daehyun wanted him to do next. Daehyun smirked. That’s what this really was. These men would never admit that they worked for him in their sober state, but the truth always came out through the toxins of euphoria.

Daehyun made eye contact with Yongguk who entered the room. The silent man bowed. The atmosphere instantly calmed to a stiff seriousness.

All the men stumbled back to their seats as the boss’s right hand approached them. It was time for collections.

The rowdy men continued to talk and yell at a lower level as Bang collected from each person. He counted each stack, making sure they paid their dues.

Yongguk was the only person Daehyun trusted.

Daehyun had been intrigued by the elder since he met him when they were kids. The quiet man wasn’t interested in anything. Money bored him, justice didn’t interest him, love, and material things couldn’t even grasp his attention. All he wanted was peace and quiet.

Daehyun didn’t understand him, as he himself couldn’t imagine living without the chaos of sound and nature. He’d go insane in solitude. But Yongguk still agreed to work for him if he let him live the way he wanted. Daehyun couldn’t have dreamed of a better partner.

Yongguk was good at what he did. He was quick, efficient, accurate, and precise. The paper money fluttered through his fingers as he counted each stack. Daehyun was convinced he could count blind.

A while ago some of the men didn’t believe that Yongguk actually counted the money, so on payment they day they were confident that they could get