Byunghun stomped into Teen Top’s territory. Niel was on the table, not even bothered to lift his head up. Instead, he sat there breathing in smoke, another hand twirling a metal pole, presumed to be his new fighting weapon. C.A.P grunted a few words under his breath, acknowledging Byunghun's presence in the midst of lifting weights. It was flat out, ignorance. Ignorance was bliss. Chunji threw a pillow towards Byunghun’s back, laughing hysterically – paying attention to see if he would give a reaction. Byunghun’s glare alike to blades, infiltrating the heart. He sat next to Chunji, smacking the pillow directly towards Chunji’s face.

“You’re no fun!” Chunji conceded, shaking his head. “Punk.”

Byunghun dodged the comment, leaving Chunji with no other options but to settle down and adapt to his erratic mood. He wasn’t up for fun and mindless talks. There was no time for that. There was no laughter in the room. The room saturated with angst, awkward silence and more uncomfortable eye contacts. In that passing moment, everyone knew that there was trouble lurking. They were hiding in their own personal space. Fear trapped in between but they chose to ignore it. Tried to.

Byunghun trailed his attention to the other members. Ricky was at the corner, watching a Mafia movie on his laptop. Niel seemed to have faded into the background, minding his own business. C.A.P was tending to the bruises and cuts on his leg. Chunji leaned against the leather couch, sticking to browsing the applications on his smartphone. Byunghun wore a scoff on his face, wondering where his gang members have positioned themselves. Hours ticked by. The afternoon preceded to night - an anxious echo, the ticking of the black clock reminded Byunghun that fate wasn't by their side.

No one dared to bring the matter to the table.
Someone needed to muster the courage to bring the topic in.
Not a single soul has that mere idea in their heads.

Byunghun couldn’t have been more frustrated.

“Are we really fighting Diamonds, tonight?”

Changjo entered the territory, yelling, tone marred with anxiety. Chunji flinched in his seat, letting a low sigh, glaring at the abrupt entrance. The youngest member’s words gnawed everyone’s minds. It was as though they have been woken up the sound of a shrill. Painful but it projected the harsh reality.

Niel placed his weapon down, staring right through Byunghun’s direction. “Ask him.” Niel slumped against his chair, a hammer of rage evident on his face. “They threatened him.”

C.A.P intruded, cold marred to his voice. "All of us."

Ricky looked up, blinking his eyes in confusion. “Who’s him? What?”

“Diamonds threatened to kill us,” Byunghun explained carefully, shooting a stern look. Teen Top gathered around him, pinning confidence close to their hearts. C.A.P gritted his teeth, trying to keep his composure. Niel gave a knowing nod, cursing silently to himself, thinking of ways to straighten the matter out.

Byunghun continued, sensing the tense atmosphere. “It’s no longer a secret. Diamonds’ men are out to destroy us. He’s not letting us off after we’ve hijacked their alcohol shipment and for winning the fight against their men. G-Dragon Hyung knows that we've been recruited to eliminate Diamonds' activities. He didn't quite know about our activities behind the back streets.”

“And for leaving Diamonds’ men on the streets with broken bones and beautiful scars," Niel added, snidely smirking.

“We’re ed,” C.A.P commented. “For the rest of our lives. Hyung won't be pleased to know that we've been relating ourselves to Diamonds. More than we should have been.”

Chunji made a face. "We couldn’t possibly not establish our name out there. Sit around all day? Hell, I wouldn’t be here earning a living out of this."

"We've gone a little too far," Byunghun reinstated, spilling the truth with a heavy heart. "He entrusted us to take care of his territory and to only be involved in the activities assigned by the main. Not to fight Diamonds directly and to things up."

"Without fights, what are we made up of?" Ricky said. "We can't sit around, expecting money to fall from the sky. This is our income. This is our life. All our work, all our effort - we're destined to achieve something out of it. It's a waste to run away now."

“What we are going to do?” Changjo questioned, anxiety laced around him. The youngest gang member held grudges for the beatings that he received some time ago. “Tonight? Are they looking for us tonight?”

“Yes. Tonight,” Byunghun said, noticing that all eyes were on him.

“L.Joe’s injured. Our gang’s shattered to the bones,” Niel spoke in defense. “Shouldn’t we heal ourselves before doing anything stupid?”

Teen Top sat in silence, brooding over the matter.

"We'll not fight tonight," Byunghun made the final call, earning instant horrified responses. "We will stay away from Diamonds."

Niel looked over, unconvinced. "For how long?"

“Avoid Diamonds,” Byunghun said, meaning every word. “It’s for our own good.”
 

The next thing they knew, the penthouse had been blown because of the disparity in personal opinions. C.A.P landed an immediate punch on Byunghun’s jaw, adding further damage to the situation.

“What do you mean it’s for our own good?” C.A.P barked, struggling, drowning as Ricky and Changjo have pinned him to the wall from attacking Byunghun - any further. Byunghun clenched his fist, his teeth carefully clamped from slipping incoherent words. “Seoul’s Underground Gangster has the idea of running away? What bull-.”

Byunghun felt himself die a little on the inside. C.A.P resisted the duo’s trap, punching Byunghun straight to the chest, without mercy. The other gang members’ feet were frozen solid to the ground, unable to catch on fast. Byunghun fell to the ground, without a sound of a whimper.

“We’ve gone too far!” Byunghun hissed, eyes closed, picking himself up. “C.A.P, it’s about time we stop. Nobody will be hurt.”

“We will betray the main,” C.A.P said, discarding the fact that Byunghun was at the tip of losing it all. “The streets will search – they will look for Teen Top’s identity. G-Dragon Hyung will be their victim because of our careless act. This shouldn’t be the case. We started it. We should be the one to end it.”

Byunghun steered himself from returning a merciless punch. He respected the older member’s opinion. “Diamonds have nothing on their side to threaten us.”

“G-Dragon’s cousin,” Changjo prompted. “They might use her as their next bait.”

“Who? Who is she?” Byunghun said, taken by surprise.

“I’ve no idea,” Changjo muttered, confidence started to fade. He appeared worried.

Teen Top stood firm by Byunghun’s decision, escaping from Diamonds’ attack for the night. Byunghun knew that their safety was at risk – but some points were comforting. Diamonds had no clue on who have been hiding behind all of those masks. Diamonds failed to find out Teen Top’s identity. For that, Byunghun was safe for now – until Diamonds managed to perfect the puzzle pieces to find their territory and break the mystery of their well-kept identity.

“How’s Seoul High been?” Niel asked, approaching Byunghun who was staring at the starless night by the porch.

“Are you mocking me?” Byunghun smiled a little, appreciating his friend’s sympathy.

“I’m not.” Niel overlooked the scenery of ruined buildings, breathing in the air. “I didn’t get the chance to ask you about the whole fascination of being enrolled into a first-rate school. You exceeded my expectation, dear friend. Judging by the lack of comments, school has been treating you well?”

Byunghun buried his head, shrugging. “Heaven’s far from it.”

“No hot chicks?” Niel half-smiled, seeing how Byunghun avoided talking about it at all cost, in pouring his heart out about the misery of being posted into a first-rate school. “School can’t be that bad. Girls dig it. Girls are after your bad image.”

“Pure, demure girls?” Niel raised a brow, seeing Byunghun who remained silent. “Long straight hair? No? There are none of those in your school?” Byunghun didn’t quite respond, consumed by his own thoughts.

“Bad boys are after cute, innocent girls,” Niel continued talking. “You’re a bad boy. You should taint their-”

“Shut up.” Byunghun held himself from turning a shade of scarlet. “I’m not interested in chasing after those girls.”

“Oh right, L.Joe,” Niel cut into his words. “C.A.P’s enrolling us into Seoul High. He wanted to make it up to you.”