Jiyong

“We need info and Seungri’s got it.”  I speak plainly, knowing that Seunghyun won’t be happy about this. He doesn’t have a problem with Seungri normally but since he has a ‘home’ date with Bom today, (this normally ends up with Dara and I staying out late to avoid the snuggly, happy, loved up couple. I don’t begrudge them the relationship they have but I find it easier to avoid them than sitting around and trying to not say anything), Dara will be coming with me. Let’s just say Seungri isn’t the sort of guy you’d want your sister (or brother for that matter) bringing home.

“Dara, woman move yo’ . I want me a sandwich.” I love talking like this and the only time I get to do it is when I’m ‘down on the street’. Seunghyun and I always think it’s hilarious listening to people speak when we’re down with Seungri. He’s in the ‘dangerous’ part of town and as far as his friends know we’re his city buddies that he met at a club somewhere. We’ve walked in on drug deals, arms shipments and guys talking about the hit they did last weekend. If they knew who we really were we’d be dead in minutes.

“Shut your mouth Ji, I’m moving my .” Dara calls from her bedroom, getting dressed to fit the part. I’m wearing low-slung jeans, a wife-beater and a black hoodie with loose vans on my feet, one earring in and a black bandanna. She appears and I lose focus for a second. She’s dressed to fit the role all right, short-shorts, tight shirt with half the buttons undone, big gold hoops in her ears, hair wild, looking like she just got out of someone else’s bed and high, strappy, wedge heels.

“Pulling it off well.” My mouth is saying stuff but I have no idea what it is. I’m so distracted by, well, all of Dara. Her long legs look incredible in those shorts and the heels give her height and make her legs look even longer. Distraction is what she’s playing here, not for me (although it’s working rather well) but for anyone else we see. You’d never suspect a freelance detective looking like a cross between a good-looking hooker and, if I do say so myself, one of my many girlfriends.

“Hell no. There is no way you are going to see Seungri dressed in that.” Seunghyun’s turned from the sandwich maker in the tiny box kitchen. The look on his face is surprise mixed with downright anger and a little bit of fear. I think he’s only just realized just how gorgeous his sister is and how well it’s going to go down with Seungri.

“She’ll be with me hyung, plus you know what Seungri will do if any of them touch her without strict permission.” Seungri is very protective of his friends and any female that walks into his base. He has a sister and she was in a club so he’ll do anything – including kicking out gang lords, to protect any female within his walls.

“Are we going or not? These heels are really uncomfortable and I feel like I should be walking up and down the street with waiting for my pimp to call.” Dara sounds more like herself now as she collapsed in a chair to take the weight off her feet.

“Yeah, we’re going.” I’m interrupted by the sound of our doorbell. It’s an annoying, ‘ting’ sound that reverberates around the apartment. I hate it but I’m way too lazy to actually do something about it.

“Bommie!” Dara has kicked off her shoes and runs to the door. Bom is one of Dara’s best friends, which is kinda lucky cause if Dara didn’t like her; she was a no-go for Seunghyun. The previous girlfriend, whom Dara hated and I may have slept with after she got dumped, cheated on Seunghyun with some random dude who also beat on her and supplied her with drugs. I think she’s either dead or a hooker by now.

“Dara! How are you? What are you wearing?” Bom and Dara walk into the kitchen together, still half-hugging. She raises an eyebrow at my outfit, knowing that I like to dress well. Bom is wearing black flats, a white singlet with a silk pink overtop and black jeans. Her hair is in a high ponytail, showing off her well-moulded cheekbones and bowl cut fringe just above her large eyes.

“TOP.” Bom says with a smile as Seunghyun pushes himself off the countertop he’s been leaning on and wraps an arm around Bom’s waist, pulling her in close. He’s tall so she pops up on her toes to kiss him hello, hands sliding behind him on the counter to grab his recently made toasted sandwich. “Mine.” She drops down from the kiss and starts to munch on what was Seunghyun’s mid-morning snack.

“Hey that’s not fair, distracting me so you could get food. It’s ok though.” Seunghyun opens the microwave to reveal another sandwich. “I made two.”

I roll my eyes at the loved-up couple and motion to Dara to grab a jacket. She does so and half way to the door I shout back, “See you later! What time should we come home?” As I close the door I hear a shout of ‘three-ish’.

“Works for me.” Dara shrugs on her coat and we head downstairs to the garage to grab my bike.

“Ready to play a role again.” I pull a second helmet from the locked storage box in our section of the garage and throw it to Dara.

“Oh my gosh Jiyong you’re such a hunk! I want to ride on your chick magnet motorcycle and go see all your sleazy friends from the dangerous side of town.” Dara straps on the helmet and I flip up the kickstand, straddling my precious Ducati. She comes down to sit behind me, arms around my waist.

‘’Not all my friends are sleazy thankyou very much.” I rev the bike and it growls powerfully. “Hang on tight.”

The bike accelerates through the traffic, cutting past trucks, cars and unfortunately a pair of police cars. “.” I swear inside my helmet. ‘Lancers have an unspoken agreement with the police; we do not interfere with each other. If I’m lucky I’ll get one of my friends on the force, who will let me off with my twenty seventh warning or I’ll get one of the officers that loves to rip on freelance detectives and I’ll have yet another ticket on my record.

The sirens blare behind me and with a sigh I pull onto the side of the road. Riffling through the bag I keep on the front of my bike I find my wallet and registration. Dara sits up, releasing my waist and flips up her helmet.

“What’s happening?” She shivers and I realize, with the breeze coming off the water, it’d be freezing. I wrap an arm around her and pull her close, trying to block the breeze with my body.

“Hi there sir, would you remind removing your helmet for me?” The officer has arrived from his car, pulled over behind us. I close my eyes for a moment, hoping they are deceiving me. Nope, no such luck. It’s Jonghyun, one of the people with little respect for freelancers.

“Can I see your license sir? Oh, well look who it is. Kwon Jiyong my delightful friend who can’t make it on to the police force and has to make do as a freelancer.” He pulls a ticket pad out of his pocket. “Let’s see what we can get you for. Not wearing proper motorcycle protection gear, carrying a passenger whose not wearing protective gear. That’s a $250 fine Jiyong or a night in jail.”

“Officer, do you have to do that? I didn’t know I had to wear protective gear and I really have to get to this job interview and I didn’t have any way to get there so I asked Jiyong to take me. I’m really sorry.” Dara had gotten off my bike and was cozing up to Jonghyun. The way she was standing showed off the fact the shorts she was wearing were probably made for someone three sizes smaller. Dara fiddled with the edge of her shirt, managing to pull it down an extra inch and reveal even more skin.

“Oh well miss, I’m really sorry.” Jonghyun’s gaze was directed straight at Dara’s very low shirt.

“But I really need this job. And if I don’t get I’ll thrown out of my apartment and then I’ll have to go back to my home town and I won’t be able to pay for my sister to go to Uni. Damn.” Dara had started to cry, tears dripping down her face and mascara smudging.

“Here.” Jonghyun had pulled out a tissue and offered it to the blubbering Dara. “Maybe I can let you off. Just this once, mind.” He threw a scorching look my way. I shook my head, pretending I had no idea how to deal with tears. I’ve actually had some pretty good practice, girls and tears wise. Dara getting dumped by that bastard, TOP and Bom having some pointless fights and myself of course. Crying over a girl is something I haven’t done since Chaerin died.  

“Thankyou so much, Officer…” Dara waited for an answer.

“Kim, Kim Jonghyun.” Jonghyun put what appeared to him as a ‘rakish smile’ on his face. To me it looked like he was trying to leer at something, perhaps a vegetable stand.

“D, your job interview?” We needed to be on time to Seungri’s otherwise he might throw a fit. Seungri can be such a baby at times.

“Gosh yes. I’m sorry Officer Kim, but we have to go. See you round sometime?” The innocent look on Dara’s face was one I’d seen many times before. ‘No Seunghyun, that wasn’t me coming home with a random person at two in the morning, it was Jiyong. You know I don’t do things like that.’ Pssh, gets him every time.

Jonghyun nodded and headed back to his patrol car, Dara nodding ‘gratefully’ back at him while quietly whispering to me, “Do you think I over did it much?”

“Hell, do the opposite of that at Seungri’s and we’ll be fine.” I revved the bike and moved back onto the road, headed towards the part of town that most of my friends lived.

And double update. I love this story so much

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