Relationships are like drugs.

They either kill you or give you the best feelings of your life.

Daehyun didn’t know whether the numbness that spread throughout his body was due to the lethality of the former, or the bliss that came with a connection he couldn’t quite define. He was slumped on a stoop, squatting in broad daylight with his back leaned heavily against the door. His head hung forward by the gravities of his despair, arms crossing loosely over his head as if to hide away from the confusions of a world that was painted in a gradient hue of black and white. Things he thought he could forget, things that made him want to sleep his days away, and things that made him go absolutely insane was attacking him all at once. It was stupid. It was crazy.

But in times like these, he always seem to remember sayings of his past that was better left under a cloak of darkness.

“You can close your eyes to things you don’t want to see, but you can’t close your heart to things you don’t want to feel.” Despite her tough and rigid demeanor, she was truly a romantic at heart. She loved to read, loved literature like a child loves toys and she went gaga over any given opportunity that would require the most cheesy, the most 'rainbow puke-worthy' and the most ’oh my god are you serious’ quotes that would make any romantic‘s heart skip a beat. “You’ll know when love is there almost immediately, and when it hits you right in the face, you can’t ignore it because love feels so ed up that it’s like a 'Mortal Kombat fatality' move where you get your guts ripped out from your throat.”

Her depiction of love was on the grotesque side but, in a way, that spine tingly, gut-wrenching and hallowed out feeling she spoke of was just how love felt. Daehyun experienced it before and there was no doubt love was just as painful and just as incurable as she described.

And he hated it.

He hated how he could still taste Yongguk at the tip of his tongue, despised the warmth that was ever present upon the face that was held captive within the man’s hands; and the sensations - god did the residual sensations kill him. Yongguk’s thumb had smoothed over his cheek and he remembered lips that spoke of a desire that struck him in that dark cavern in his chest that couldn’t give into the light of his confessions.

“This is just bull! Such damn bull! I'm out of my mind! That's all! I just need to get myself laid or something and I'll be fixed!" He hollered to the damnable heavens above, attracting unwanted attention by passerby who gawked at the crazed banshee.

“Hyung?” The door behind him flung open and his little brother looked down at the madman who fell back onto the floor. “What are you doing there?”

“Just chillin’ Hakkun. Just chillin out on the stoop like it‘s nobody‘s business.” He his side and instead of getting up, Daehyun decided to mope where he laid, his lips pouting, his eyes narrowing and his breathes heaving out of him as he wallowed in his own little puddle of confusion.

“You can’t lay there.”

“And who said I can’t? If I want to just waste away on the floor then I will.”

Hakkun gently kicked his brother’s head. “Get up hyung.”

“I swear to Moses Hakun, if you kick me again I‘ll-” A light tap at the top of his head sent the two brothers blitzing through the house within seconds time. Screams were heard, curses bounced off of the walls and Daehyun almost knocked down a lamp chasing his little brother around the kitchen.

“You are a brat!”

A tongue stuck out in defiance. “You are a love sick puppy!”

“What did you call me you little brat!?”

“Love sick!”

“Say that again and I’ll -”

“L-O-V-E! Love sick!” They stopped at the round table where a showdown began.As one shuffled right the other went left, the battle between siblings preventing either one of them from escaping the stare down that shot a metaphoric bolt of electricity across the table.

“Love sick? That’s just stupid. Why would you even say that you dumb brat?”

The child smiled widely. “Because you're yelling to yourself and you're laying on the floor like you did before when you were love sick with the pretty girl who smokes a lot…the pretty girl mama didn’t approve of.” His hands tightened around the backrest of the chair and his mind drifted once again to that particular girl who knew everything there was to know about the rambunctious, spontaneous and overtly adventurous Jung Daehyun she once called her family. “I like her. She’s funny. Where is she hyung? I never see her around anymore.”

“She’s gone.” There was no other way to explain it. “I did something stupid. I pushed her away. She got mad and went off on her own to that little piece of heaven she calls her true home. So she won’t be showing her face around here again.” And just like that, the chase was over, solemnity began and Hakkun watched his brother glumly retreat into his room, staying there for the rest of the day.

“I’m kicking Daehyun off of the newspaper committee.”

Mr. I-got-lead-in-publishing-because-of-my-pretty-face sounded as if a huge chunk of hell had made it its personal mission to set his whole body aflame. He was so pissed off at everyone (namely Daehyun) that Youngjae had to shake himself from the unexpectedness of a decision that threw him for a loop. “W-What? Why??”

“I need the finalization of his interview with Yongguk by tomorrow and seeing as I didn’t get a draft or heard from him in weeks, I know, without a single doubt in my mind, I have to find some other material to fill his spot in the sports section.” Not that anyone was surprised, it wouldn’t be the first time Myungsoo picked up after the incompetence that was Jung Daehyun.

“Just calm down Myungsoo.”

“Calm down!” He hollered through the phone. “How can I calm down! I have a reputation to uphold! Unlike his other screw ups, I’m not prepared for this crap. The sports section can’t be replaced with just anything. The biggest basketball game of the year is in two weeks and I specifically need the star player on the page…nothing else.”

“And it’ll happen.”

“I highly doubt it Youngjae, so warn him that I’m -”

“Wait. Here me out.” Youngjae may have had more than enough reasons to care less about Daehyun’s chances at a scholarship. His best friend betrayed him with a lie that was as damaging as a stake right through the chest, but unlike their friendship that was seemingly tethered by a one-sided trust system, this was Daehyun’s future they were talking about. Youngjae couldn’t just sit there and watch Myungsoo flush his dreams down the drain if he still had any say in it. “I’ll make sure he gets it done. Just wait until tomorrow.”

“Youngjae, I know you two are friends and all but -”

“You’ll get the final piece first thing tomorrow morning and it‘ll be perfect.” Youngjae reiterated more forcefully this time. “I promise you that.” He hung up the phone, his stress levels sky-rocketing through the roof.

“What’s wrong?” Himchan had been sitting right beside him on the living room couch this whole time. He wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, the little comfort his embrace provided sending the tension in his shoulders into oblivion.

“If Daehyun doesn’t get a sports article about Yongguk sent by tomorrow he’s off the Newspaper committee and all chances of getting a scholarship goes right down the drain with it.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to get him out of the hole he dug himself into again.” Himchan shook his head. “Please Youngjae, please don’t tell me you’re going to put yourself through that.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“Yeah, he’s so very peachy as your best friend but when it comes to his own responsibilities, he goes and makes himself into a and throws his on your shoulders.”

“Himchan…” He didn’t need this right now. With his father chewing his ear off about his grades (apparently an 85 percentile marking was every parent’s worse nightmare), his boss stretching out his hours at the café and Myungsoo threatening Daehyun‘s future, having Himchan on his case was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

“He misses work and you cover for him,” But ever since their nightly endeavors throughout the town of Itaewon, petty arguments between them (all seemingly sparked by the very mention of Daehyun‘s name) became the norm. “He forgets to do a report and you lie your way out of a class just to help him finish it and, as if that’s not enough, he plays hooky and you’re all gun-ho to get his homework, put up legit sounding excuses to get him out of trouble and xerox copy your own notes so he doesn’t fall behind. I’m all for that saying, ‘best friends are always there for each other through thick and thin,’ but Daehyun’s taking advantage of you. He’s using you. That idiot doesn’t appreciate the things you do for him and it’s like you’re just there until he needs you again.”

The list went on and on and Youngjae wanted him -no; he needed him - to stop! Himchan had so much valid insults that thoroughly defamed their so called ’friendship,’ that there was nothing in Youngjae’s arsenal he could use to defend himself with. He wanted his boyfriend to shut up about the situation but he continued with his spiel that eventually pulled Youngjae out of his arms. “You let him do this to you and for what?" Daehyun and Himchan may not see eye to eye but they sure knew how to diss the hell out of each other with every argument that passed them by. "A friendship that‘s not even there? You‘re eating lunch by yourself most of the time these days and you worry about him 24/7 that it irritates me. Don’t you understand that Jung Daehyun is a lost cause? That‘s he‘s a stupid-”

“Just stop okay!” Youngjae got up like rapid fire and sharply spun to face the blond who wasn’t prepared for the anger that came at him like a speeding truck. “Yeah, I know I go above and beyond to make sure he’s alright. I’m always there for him and I go out of my way to see to it that his mistakes and his inability to own up to his own responsibilities doesn’t bite him in the , but he’s there for me too. He‘s always there when I need him!” Youngjae didn’t want to believe the friendship they both built from the ground up wasn’t a one-way streak! “He’s there for me to talk to when you’re out gallivanting to god knows where without me.”

He didn’t want the realization to hit him that maybe, just maybe, the friendships with others he broke off for Daehyun, the academic opportunities he declined for Daehyun, and the time he invested on Jung Daehyun hadn’t gone in vain. “He’s there when I need a shoulder to cry on when I can’t stand how much I care for you, how much I want to be with you and how much I love you to the extent of love that just makes me want to simply talk to you when I see you in the halls.“ Youngjae just couldn’t bring himself to see he was being left behind. “Daehyun’s always there when I’m at my wits end and I feel like I’m losing myself.” But, as truth be told, Daehyun wasn’t there for him anymore and the tears he shed and the worries that racked through his head was left to the lonely depths of his dampened pillow he found himself crying into every time life pulled him to his hands and knees. “H-He’s always there.”

He wasn't going to cry. Not in front of Himchan anyways. If there was one thing he benefited from the toxicity of a friendship that, according to Himchan, had more loses than there were gains, it would have to be the barriers that surrounded Daehyun's heart with layers upon layers of metal, brass and anything that would keep the pain out and his personal strengths within. A tear never touched his eyes and turning his back to Himchan made it easier for him to control his temper before things got out of hand.  “I don’t want to argue or talk about this anymore.”

“You always do that. You always blame me for things I can’t change.”

Tight fist formed at his sides.  “You can change it.” He said through gritting teeth. “You just don‘t want to.”

“We've gone through this. We’re not like other couples. You know that.” And Youngjae understood the concept of forbidden love but sometimes, keeping the heart within the confines of the dark made it hard for him to breathe. “You think I want this for us? You really think that I’m okay with how things are?” There was a possibility for anger, a calling to the wicked tides of animosity, but instead of falling prey to the typhoon of emotions that hit him all at once, Himchan took a deep breath, thought things through and took his boyfriend in his arms. He held him tightly from behind and despite the trifles of Youngjae’s struggles, Himchan nuzzled his face into his neck and never let him go. “I hate fighting about the same thing. I really do hate it Jae.”

His fingers could only seek the warmth of Himchan’s hand, the hold on him just as indestructible as the embrace he eventually warmed up to. “I don’t like it either. I only want to feel like you're there for me. I want to feel like you care and you support my decisions without all the bickering that comes in between.”

“Okay.” Himchan comfortingly dragged his hand up and down his arm. "I’ll show you I’m here for you by doing something that’ll make me want to jump off a bridge and probably make my ghost jump out of a plane for good measure." The light sprit of humor turned Youngjae around to reveal the doubtful look in eyes that sought his boyfriend's loving gaze. “I’ll fix everything, alright?” Youngjae didn’t know what he was going to do or how he was going to go about solving the problem that drove him insane, but he nodded, trusting the man that had taken him into his warming embrace.

Sleep eluded him, restlessness invaded him and memories tirelessly bombarded his mind like a relentless courier with a message that was as important as life itself. He remembered how much blood was shed the day he was cornered and he got his handed to him by a girl. He recalled the anger, the frustration, and the unresolved tension that resulted in a beat down that was supposed to remind him how much family mattered and how much the love they exuded was worth holding onto.

“Daehyun you got yourself in a load of trouble and we don’t know how to get you out of it. We don’t know what to do.” Money was the root of all evil. That was what she and everyone else in his family believed in.

“I don’t need your help. I don’t need anyone’s help. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone!” It was love that supposed to be the only thing on his mind but he strayed off of the beaten path as if love and the heart that contained it didn't exist.

“What’s the money for?! What is it for you stupid idiot!? What is all of this for?! The secrets! The lies! You abandoning the only true friends and true family you have left! What is it you want to ing gain huh? What is it?” They weren’t supposed to be the kind of delinquents whose actions would one day send them behind bars. But he stole so much money back then. He had gotten into a load of trouble that Daehyun himself didn’t buy into the confidence that dared to toss everyone he ever cared for aside.

The game of ‘life’ was what started it all and when he thought he pulled himself out of the rubble and escaped the wreckage of his past unscathed, he wondered if he was diving back into a game he couldn’t win. Of course, it was a different kind of game. What he was getting himself into with Yongguk was a harmless ‘scuffle’ between rivals. He had to admit though, it was funny how the memories worked its way into his head as if warning him of the pain that almost always came with a defeat. “Why would you ruin your life like this Daehyun?! Why put yourself in a game you can’t win?!”

She never understood his intentions. No one really did and so those secrets started to break apart the only connection he cherished with every entity of his soul. “I did it for you, you stupid .” Daehyun whispered, his eyes following the ring he fiddled around with. He laid on his bed rolling the gift Myu Na had given him in a back and forth motion that eventually pulled him into an entrance-like state of mind he couldn't escape from. A single index finger kept the silver trinket upright and it was a wonder why he chose to lie on his bed, playing with his ring, with the thought of the past, the present and the future on his mind.

“Why aren’t you answering your phone Youngjae?” He shouldn’t have been surprised. After the slamming of the computer room door all those days ago, he should’ve expected Youngjae to stay upset over something he wasn't sure of. “I need to talk to you.” He had no one left. Luhan was too impatient to lend an ear, Xiumin was too busy to pick up the phone, Lay only ever gave him technical advice when it came to his problems, Chen never knew what to say, Tao was too emotional for his own good and Kris already had a lot on his plate that couldn't bare the weight of yet another one of his problems. Daehyun couldn’t go to them and the more the silence washed over him, the more he wanted to throw the ring right into the plastered wall.

Tap!

The rain had started up again.

Tap!

It was scary how the weather reflected the capricious human emotions he tried so hard to ignore.

Tap!

And the rhythmic disturbance at his window didn’t help with the unorthodox setting that eventually pulled him to his knees. He looked out the window that was set five inches above his bed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he looked just beyond the fencing of his home to see a figure throwing pebbles in his direction. “It’s friken 4 in the morning. Who the hell…”

He threw the covers off of him and rushed to the front gate where a sodden man greeted him in silence. “You are a ing stalker.”

Yongguk rolled his eyes. “Are you going to let me in or just stand there like an idiot throwing insults for all the world to hear?”

“Give me one good reason.”

Being far too sleep-deprived to put up a fight, Yongguk handed him the papers that miraculously granted him access to the home that wasn’t anything like the grandeur of his own abode. It was nice nonetheless, very inviting and Yongguk was quick to make himself at home as he laid his umbrella aside and made his way passed Daehyun who scoffed at the man’s curiosity.

“Stop walking around like you know the place.” Daehyun hissed, keeping his voice down as to not disturb his mother and his slumbering kid brother.

“You should be happy that I didn’t take your approach and break into your house.”

“Oh yes, I’m so glad Mr. Richie Rich didn’t hire people to break through my front gate that wasn't even locked to begin with.” The sarcasm came out in exaggerated tones.

Before Yongguk could come up with a well-thought out retort (because he always seem to have one on hand 99.99% of the time) Daehyun corralled the man into his room, shoving him in there without the finesse a host would usually show his guest. “Sit there.” Daehyun strictly pointed to his computer chair but instead of following orders like a good dog would, Yongguk curled up on his bed with a pillow comfortably tucked under his head. “Get off of there.”

“Make me.”

He was just like his hell hound in every way shape and form. It was annoying! Just like his dog, there was that intimidating, almost threatening air about him yet he looked harmless curled up on his bed like a sleepy pup seconds away from falling into a world of dreams.

Daehyun sank back in his chair and looked over the papers Yongguk had given him. “How did you know I had to write an article about you?”

“Himchan begged me and suffered a bite from my dog to prove how important it was that I stay up all friken night answering a bunch of questions I cared nothing about.”

There was a lot of material to work from, and with a six page paper covering the basis of what a pre-game interview was all about, Daehyun didn’t see a reason for Yongguk to stay. “Why are you here?”

“To give the paper to you. I know it’s early in the morning but you can’t be that stupid.”

“I didn’t mean it like that you .” His cheeks puffed slightly in agitation. “I meant why are you in my house? Why don’t you go home? I don’t need you around when I have these.” He waved the papers about and Yongguk responded with an arched brow.

“Daehyunnie.” His stare was as impenetrable as ever, the look in his eyes sending those unnerving waves of anticipation as if he was expecting something Daehyun knew nothing about. He’d smile and it was only when that tinge of amusement painted over his lips did Daehyun feel the sudden need to look away. “I was hoping…when you complete your article you could reward me by finishing what you started on that chair you locked me in.”

Daehyun scoffed and averted his attention to the desktop he . “You’ll find yourself hoping for that until the day you die because that will never happen. I really don’t know what’s going on with your ed up mind but you gotta rearrange the wires in your head because you‘re acting more stupid than you usually are.”

“It bothers you?”

“Nothing you do bothers me.” Because if that was the case, than it only meant Yongguk was getting under his skin and that, in Daehyun’s perspective, was unacceptable.

“And yet you’re flustered.” Yongguk noted as a tint of red betrayed the younger who furiously chewed the insides of his cheek.

“I’m not flustered. Why would I be? There’s no reason to be flustered so shut up or I’ll kick you out of my house.” Yongguk chuckled into his pillow, dropping the subject just until he saw fit to bring it up again.

Daehyun went to work on his article with those beady pair of eyes watching every breath he took, every move he made, and every single turn of the head that revealed that same ‘ol glare that was met with a smile. “I hate how chippery you look.” Daehyun stated over the constant tapping of his keyboard.

“Maybe it’s because you find my chippery side difficult to ignore. I've been told I'm devishly good looking.”

"The devil part I believe, but good looking?" He laughed a cryptic laugh, nearly choking on his spit as he did so. “Like I said before…stop while you’re ahead.”

“And you should stop living a lie.”

“You don’t understand do you?” He momentarily stopped what he was doing just to spare a glance of amusement at the man who was getting far too comfortable on his bed. “Do you really think I was born yesterday? I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. A person can’t hate someone one minute and throw a load of compliments, flatteries and all that other bull the next unless there’s an ulterior motive behind the sudden need to get in my pants.” Just talking about homo- was giving him the hibijibis. The only time he ever mentioned such -on- crime was around Youngjae and that was just for teasing purposes only, nothing else.

“I guess the same thing goes for the essay you so kindly edited for me?”  

“I didn’t do it for you.”

“You didn’t do it for me?” He skeptically questioned as he rose from the bed, bringing his legs to the floor and sitting upright to appropriately meet the other’s gaze. “I guess, if I use my wildest imagination, I can see how much a psychology paper, with my name on it, would benefit you.”

Daehyun shifted his attention off to the side, grimacing at the heavy use of sarcasm in his words. “I’m just not that much of an to ruin other people’s grades, that’s all.”  

“So you didn’t want my failure hanging on your conscious? I never knew you had a heart Jung Daehyun.”

He wasn’t in the mood to explain himself any further so he shrugged his shoulders and directed his attention back on his work. The sound of the keyboard filtered the room and Yongguk watched him once again in the silence that surprisingly lasted until the wheels of Daehyun’s chair snapped Yongguk out of his thoughts. “Read this…tell me if there‘s anything I need to change.” And  here came the moment Daehyun dreaded the most: Bang ing Yongguk literally breathing down his neck.

It had to be done.

In order for him to look over the finish piece, Yongguk had to rest one hand on the backrest of the chair while the other pressed against the hard wood of his desk. He was leaning over him whilst Daehyun's eyes glued onto the screen in the same attentive manner Yongguk bestowed upon the article that spoke of his goals, his hopes, his dreams, his personality and everything that had to do with the side of Yongguk he knew nothing about; not that such a nice, ambitious and caring side to him concerned the man who only saw Bang Yongguk as a Demon who owned a hellhound for a dog.

Daehyun waited for him to finish, his body as stiff as a board as he made no sudden movements in fear of triggering something that only a fist to the face could solve. “It’s very…” Yongguk tilted his head off to the side. “…glowing.”

“You have an ego the size of Namsan tower so I thought the more compliments the better. Besides, it gets the girls gushing like stupid idiots…sells more papers that way.” And what stupid idiots they really were. God, did Daehyun despise the Bang Yongguk related squealing that burst the ovaries of the entire female population every time Mr. basketball star made the front page.

“Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?”

“Please,” Daehyun scoffed. “I honestly don’t give a damn about any of that.” He shifted, he moved, his muscles generating more than a twinge of activity he hadn‘t planned on, and, from there,  it was like hell froze over almost immediately when he felt the man behind him moving far too close for comfort. Without even thinking, Daehyun spun in his chair, Yongguk’s hand following the sudden motion that turned the other around to face him. They were deadlock in that same stare that possessed a kind of energy that couldn’t be seen, couldn’t be explained and couldn’t be shared by no other than the two who looked upon each other with a mix of hate, amusement and confounded curiosity. Yongguk caught himself on the table before gravity could take a hold of him, arms now stretched out at either side of the teen who sat in his chair with a confidence not many were able to express in his presence. “But what I do give a damn about is the way you approach the game between us.”

He felt like a warlord sitting before a pitiful minion of sorts who deserved nothing more than the smug look upon features that angled slightly to appropriately meet the gaze of the man who hovered over him. Arms were laid perfectly upon the armrest, muscles lax, fingers calmly curled around the edge as if to radiate an aura of indifference that instilled within the measured breathes he took and the leveled tone that masked his discomfort.

“Being in charge of the sports section I actually did a little research about your position on the Basketball team.”

A smirk tugged at a single corner of his lips. “And what did your findings reveal?”

“What I found out is that you really do live up to the position you play.” And he wasn’t talking about the trophies he won, the skills he learned or the following he had gained throughout the years dedicating himself to the school's basketball team. What he was referring to were his daring actions that pulled
Daehyun's eyes to the knee that coaxed his legs apart. He kept the neutral expression on his face at all times and even went as far as to rest his head upon a closed fist as he passively watched Yongguk gain access to the hard wood he knelt upon. “First of all, a power forward plays both offense and defense depending on who is in possession on the ball, where that ball is at and the position, the distance and the angle of the player to the basket.”

There was not a single trace of resistance from the bundle of muscles that made up his inner thighs. Daehyun saw no use in fighting against the invasiveness of the knee he accepted without question. With each grueling millimeter gained, Daehyun would patiently follow the knee that sluggishly made its way to his groin, the distance and the unspeakable tension between them as penetrating as the dark, wicked gaze that searched for a hint of uneasiness upon Daehyun’s otherwise emotionless demeanor.

“Go on.” Yongguk softly encouraged when he noticed a significant period of silence had passed.

“Offensive and defensive are the main plays in the game, but what makes a power forward show the aggressiveness they’re known for would have to be when they’re pitting against a player that’s on the defense. Power forwards are really pushy bastards when they have the ball and they want to get to the basket to score a point. They ram their way through the opposing team and while they do everything and anything they can to get to the other end of the court, they still manage to keep the rules in mind.” A brow twitched and the muscles in his arms tensed when legs widened even further to accept the leg that drove all the way home and met with the most heated, most sensitive and most uncooperative part of his body that craved for the pleasures physical contact provided. Without meaning to, Daehyun tightened his hold upon the armrest and pushed himself as far back into the chair as possible. But like his outstretched arms, Yongguk’s leg caged him in, pinning him against the backrest as the significant pressure at his loins cracked his unmoving disposition in the slightest.

“Go on Daehyun.” He moved in close, the heated mist that came with his whispered demand lifting Daehyun’s head to meet his gaze. It was kneading, his knee rubbing, caressing and pressing into the member that was physiologically swayed by the sensations that made molars clench in quiet disdain. “Tell me more.” He felt the pit of his stomach bend and coil at the very sight of the smile Daehyun forced himself to form upon his own lips.

“But aside from offensive plays that make Power forwards the driving force to a team’s success, there is one move that I find the most interesting, and that’s when Power forwards rebound the ball in the last 3 seconds that determines whether you win or lose the game.” In all truth, Daehyun had lost the direction he was going with his spiel the second the back of Yongguk’s hand gently ran down his face. His knuckles brushed against his cheek, the line of amenable sensations trailing along the curve of his jaw before an index finger tucked beneath his chin.

“Get to the point Daehyunnie.” Just like he was in the pantry, Yongguk grew unknowingly entranced by the lips his thumb smoothed over in a suggestive swipe Daehyun wasn’t quick to condone to.

“My point is you can’t rebound for .” Having his weaknesses spat out to him must’ve really got under his skin. It wasn’t much, but Yongguk had leaned back by a noticeable inch that made it easier for Daehyun to breathe again. “I’ve watched your past games and I have to say, you're not like the power forwards I've researched. No one really notices your faults because you play them off so…elegantly that people only take note of your recoveries and your steals rather than the fouls that your actions force your teammates to make. You put them in a position where they have no choice but to raise those flags as foul after foul is made.”

And just when Yongguk thought he gained an advantage to their never-ending game, Daehyun made sure to always get the upper-hand in the end with the facts that slackened the smile on Yongguk’s face. “You’re messy. I really don’t know basketball all that well but even I can see you execute your plays in a way that opens up a lot of opportunities for the other team to use your weaknesses to their advantage.” Yongguk still had that faint smile and that deceptive look of control instilled within his eyes but Daehyun could feel the shift in a game that was his to gain. “So, with that being said, whatever ‘play’ you’re trying to make with me, I know, in the end, it won’t work out because if you’re anything like the position you dedicated your whole high school career to, it’ll all fall apart in the end.” Sure, he had his wins here and there, even acquired a ‘trophy’ in the form of a kiss, but, when everything is said and done and they find themselves going head-to-head in the final stretch of the game, Daehyun was confident that he was going to come out the winner in the end.

“Oh, and since we’re on the subject of faults,” Gaining back every bit of his composure, Daehyun shoved Yongguk’s leg off of the chair and spun around to face his work once again. “An ‘infraction of morality’ has been made. You earned yourself a personal foul Yongguk.” Mr. Richie rich was put in his place. Like a dog thrown in its cage, Bang Yongguk had no means of escaping the facts he himself was well aware of. So it could be sai that having a heaping dose of reality served by someone as arrogant as Daehyun would permanently put any man on a leash. It would make others think twice before messing with him again. But of course, Yongguk wasn’t like any other man Daehyun had encountered before and he shouldn’t have been surprised when arms imprisoned him in an embrace that kept him in his seat.

“For an idiot, you sure have a way with words.”

Daehyun took that as a compliment. Words may have spoken closely to his ear in a mere whisper that made goosebumps spread throughout his body, but it bolstered his ego nevertheless. “I have my moments.”

However, when something wet, something vile and something unwelcoming latched onto his neck, Daehyun had the sudden urge to stand. He dug his nails into the chair, clenching his hands tightly around the armrest to pull himself to his feet but stopped just seconds after realizing his struggles would only go in vain. So he tried to relax, attempted to control the stammered beat of his heart and the erratic rise and fall of his chest. It had been so long since someone the nape of his neck that he couldn’t control eyes that rolled back when teeth bit into unmarred skin.

He lost his voice for a moment, his desire to find his words on the backburner that burned his insides like an inferno and made speaking obsolete. Yongguk was holding him so tightly that even if Daehyun twist and turned in his grasp in hopes for an escape, he’d only fall victim to the hands that were prepared to bruise his arm in a vice grip that wasn’t going to let him go just yet.

“What do you mean by ‘an infraction of morality’?”

Bang Yongguk! He can go to hell! Daehyun may have been caged within his arms but it didn’t mean he could be controlled. Defiance defined him and molded him into the difficult teen he was today. So Daehyun let that side of him be known as he bit his bottom lip to prevent a reply from escaping him.

“Don’t make me ask again Daehyun.” He was upset. Daehyun could hear that tinge of irritation that must've been sparked by the faults he had carelessly pointed out. “What did I do to earn a personal foul?”

Everything he stood for and every peck of the lips that made his body want to respond to the nips and nibbles that enraptured his neck was a personal foul within itself. What he was doing was against the unspoken rules and regulations two rivals, two enemies and two complete opposites were supposed to abide to. There was no reason in the world to allow himself to get caught up in a mess of things that would only sideline Daehyun from the ultimate goal that started a game that went way over his head.

He had to stay in control, so Daehyun swallowed the lump in his throat and asked a question of his own.  “what are you going to gain Yongguk?”

It wasn’t the reply he was looking for, but Yongguk was a fairly patient man and decided to go along with whatever Daehyun had up his sleeve. “What do you mean?”

“You ‘wanting me so badly’ has a motive behind it, doesn’t it?” He could chuckle into his ear, send the low rumbles of his amusement down his spine and nibble at the lobe of his ears; Yongguk could do everything in the book to turn Daehyun on but he was quick to take full reign of a situation that could take a turn for the worst if left unchecked. “So what are you going to gain? A win? Or experiencing the pleasure of seeing me lose at my own game?”

“Neither.” Yongguk reached around him and smoothed his fingers down the thin line of his jaw. Daehyun was so use to the roughness, use to the uncaring approach of every little thing Yongguk did and said that the tenderness of his hold seem to do everything in its power to control him. He followed the gentle pull of the elder’s hand, turning to lock upon the smiling features of a man he wanted to hate with every essence of his soul and being. “What I'd gain is you.”

Daehyun breathily chuckled and shook his head out of Yongguk's hand. “Well, to bad. Because the personal foul I was talking about had to do with the fact that I’m taken.”

“Taken?” He wasn't surprise at all. Like always, he sounded calm with a sprinkle of skepticism tugging at his brow.

“As in ’off the market’…someone you can’t or toy with.”

“And that person is Youngjae?”

Daehyun shook his head once more. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m dating a girl.”

The news didn’t relinquish the hold around him. Instead, the odd encirclement of his arms tightened and the air grew much more thicker with the confusion that followed Yongguk’s words. “A girl?”

“Yeah, yanno’…someone with a . I know it’s early in the morning but you can’t be that stupid.” Daehyun mocked with an impish grin that reflected off of his computer screen.

Yongguk was quick to catch onto his own words that were used against him and simply responded with a huff of laughter that spread warmly against the long stalk of Daehyun’s delectable neck. “It doesn’t matter.” The nonchalance of his reply took Daehyun aback for a split second. “She can’t hold your attention like I can because if that was the case, you’d already be ing her.” Yongguk wasn’t much of a gutter mouth nor found any pleasure in stooping to the crude and foul levels of Jung Daehyun. But it appeared that every profane word that brushed hotly against Daehyun’s neck earned him a pleasurable reaction that made the boy involuntarily shudder in his arms.

“And how would you know I hadn’t already ed her?” He was playing with fire. Daehyun was slowly making his way to the pits of hell and he strangely didn’t give two s about strolling into the devil's playground.

“I just know she’s a substitute for what you really want.” Unexpectedly, a hand started to move down south, the flattened palm sending waves of heat down his chest, across his abdomen and upon the thigh where long, nimble digits disturbingly kneaded at the tense bundle of muscles there. “After all, it’s hard to pull away when these things start up between us.” Daehyun hooked his fingers around the arm that crossed over his chest, his efforts to free himself only sinking him further back into his chair. “It’s something you can’t escape from and you know that. But you insist on living a lie.”

“I’m not living a ing lie.” How can knots exist! What was the meaning of these damnable, godforsaken, ’deserve to be thrown in a gutter’ knots that insist on straining each word that fell with a wisp of air that sounded like he was a fish out of water. He felt like death was upon him and each and every finger that brushed against his inner thigh was working in strangling the life out of him.

“Break up with her.”

Daehyun allowed himself to stifle a laugh. “You sound so needy and desperate. It‘s unbecoming of you.”

“It’s because I am and I really don‘t give a damn if it‘s ‘unbecoming of me‘. I just know I need you.”

The talk of needing him, wanting him and desiring him would make any heart skip a bit, but it only twisted that unnecessary organ in his chest into that same knot that clung to the back of his throat. “This is one game I’m not walking into.”

“It’s not a game.”

He didn’t know why he sat there enduring kisses that would most likely leave its mark once the sun hit the horizon. Perhaps he didn’t want to wake up his mother or have his brother stir from his slumbers to only burst into the room to find them in a situation he didn’t want to explain. Maybe Daehyun quietly accepted the lips that outlined his jaw for reasons that related to his undying need to know everything that went on in Yongguk’s head. He wasn’t sure. Much like Yongguk, he didn’t really give a damn because things were already getting out of hand with fingers literally working to make ever muscle spasm with the pleasures he refused to succumb to.

“I’m not breaking up with her.”

“Daehyunnie.” How was it possible for three woeful syllables to him in ways that made understanding his following question hard to come by? “Do you really want everything to be a game?” He didn’t answer him. Daehyun was determined to put up that look of indifference as if whatever was happening below the belt didn’t faze him one bit. “Daehyunnie…”

“The only thing between us is a game. It's the only thing I want.” And it was the only thing Yongguk needed to hear. Just as fast as everything began, it ended when the hand that rubbed him in all the wrong ways took a hold of his mouse. “What are you doing?” Daehyun helplessly watched his cursor move across the screen as web addresses were typed out and pages were changed. It took Yongguk a while to make use of the one hand that he had at his disposal, but when he did finally get to a website, it took all of one click to reveal a .gif of shadowed figures pointing their flashlights in all directions. “What is this?”

“You heard of the haunted hospital just beyond the outskirts of Seoul, right?” Daehyun nodded slowly, not liking the sound of this one bit. “After the big basketball game next week, win or lose, the Senior class decided to celebrate with a gathering.”  

“Gathering? In a haunted hospital that’s pretty much pitch black with no way in seeing where the hell you’re going?” If he heard the rumors correctly, every window and every door in that place was boarded up and sealed off to the public. Of course, there were always ways to get in, but getting out was a whole other story. Darkness played tricks on people and even with the best flashlights on the market, the whole experience would feel as disorienting as maneuvering through a funhouse filled with mirrors. “Your guys definition of ‘gathering’ is ed up.”

“But it’s memorable…something you wouldn’t forget.” Yongguk went about clicking on various tabs and hyperlinks that required several passwords with each click of the mouse. The invite was strict, the location of the event on a need to know buisnes and yet, to enter in the ‘festivities' all one had to do was type out your name. “To make things fun someone put up a challenge to find the mirror that is rumored to have trapped the soul of a woman who was so fixated with her appearance that she broke off a piece of her mirror just to cut off the imperfections she saw in her reflection.”

Daehyun already knew where this was going. “So you find the mirror and then what? Is it like the whole homo hill bull and you win money?”

“Like I said, it’s only for fun. The objective simply passes the time and encourages people to walk around, that’s all.”

So what was the point? Daehyun didn’t see the sense in signing up for the most ed up night of his life in the most ed up place on earth. He already hated hospitals as it is, and to subject himself to a haunted one with no source of light was all kinds of crazy that belonged in its own personal category of insane.

Daehyun impatiently sighed. “So why show me this? I’m not a Senior and I don’t like wasting my time on games if there’s nothing to gain.”

“First of all, Seniors are allowed to bring one guest along since not many are up for the challenge. Secondly, I don’t think it’s a waste of time. Thirdly, you’ll be more than interested in the ‘gains’ of the events.” Daehyun leaned as far away from the man who must have mistaken him for a stuff doll, what with the way he was cuddling and invading his personal space like he had a legitimate reason to.

"What gains? There's no gains to this?"

Oh but how wrong Daehyun was to question the 'gains' Yongguk had all the power and the money to provide. Did he forget that Mr. Richie rich actually did live up to his name? "You can have anything you want."

"What do you mean?"

"If you can find that mirror before I do, you can have anything you want so long as it's something reasonable I can provide."

Be it money, a house, a convertible or an all expense paid trip to France, whatever Daehyun dreamed of or have ever wished in his lifetime, it would be his without question. That's what Yongguk was proposing and Daehyun smiled at the possibilities that came to mind. "You're serious? I can have anything I want if I find the stupid mirror first?"

"Anything you want Daehyun."

The sky was the limit and yet Daehyun decided to stay on leveled ground with one simple wish in mind. "What I want is to know everything there is to know about the scars on your back. How'd you get it? Who did that to you? When it happened? And why? Everything! I want to know everything behind that one secret you don't want anyone to know about."

For the first time in a long while Yongguk was absolutely and positively speechless by the stakes that put his secrets at risk. He knew Daehyun was the kind of guy who lived by the saying: Go big or go home. But this was crazy. Daehyun had a fear of hospitals, Yongguk wanted his secrets to stay a secret and the two was really getting themselves caught in a devil’s snare they couldn't escape from because as soon as the moment of hesitation came and went, Yongguk recovered his smile and nodded in agreement. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything without spilling a single lie. But if I win...my prize is you."

“I‘m your prize?" Oh hell no! Daehyun knew when to draw the line and that was one threshold he wasn't going to cross. "If this is some kind of master and slave bull I’m not going to -”

“It’s a date Daehyun.” Yongguk released the rambunctious teen and fell onto the bed where he settled himself back into that comfortable position in which legs stretched out upon the comforters and his head sank into the plush pillow wrapped he held in his arms. “You dump your girlfriend and you start dating me for a week….that’s it.”

Daehyun didn’t bother to turn his chair to face him. Why chance the possibility of looking at a smile when he could already envision it in his mind’s eye? Nothing made sense anymore. Daehyun was smart enough to know he was stepping into a trap, that Yongguk had some kind of trick up his sleeve and that there was no way a man who had hated him enough to trap him in a tree would develop emotions that could never touch his non-existent heart. It was impossible! So if Daehyun were to be the brainbox (Youngjae’s position) in this situation, he would’ve denied the offer and leave the space that required his name blank. Daehyun would’ve turned off his computer, send Yongguk on his way and focus on the woman whose ring laid in the depth of his pant’s pocket.

“Fine. I’ll play into what will be the last game between us.”

But to bad Daehyun wasn't, as Youngjae said time and time again, the sharpest tool in the shed. Obtaining other’s secrets was his downfall. It was a weakness he couldn’t overcome because when one has over 200 pages of the nitty-gritty jotted down in his journal, it was more than safe to say Daehyun’s book became a worth obsessing over. He typed out his name and with a simple press of a button, Jung Daehyun watched as the page began to load the directions that would either lead to the secret that started their little game, or a week of hell Daehyun would kill himself to escape from.