three
A Worth Obsessing Over
Faults were inevitable, especially when you’re a teen flooded with emotions that are usually left unchecked. Mistakes are made, uncertainty is felt from deep within, and a kind of stubbornness no one could control would linger on and travel from point A to Point B until his entire body succumbed to the frustration that darkened his eyes.
Daehyun despised people like Yongguk. “So, what’s it going to be Jung Daehyun?” They preyed on the weak, financially crippled the already struggling masses of the middle class, and continued to spit out bull that everyone listened to just because they were on top of the world. “Are you coming in or are you staying out there?” People like Yongguk who had their toys and their hot rides and a financially stable life were fortunate, and as such they took that fortune for granted. “Earth to Jung Daehyun.” They acted like puppeteers who made absolutely sure they were one step ahead of their competition so they could control every aspect of a game that wasn’t theirs to play.
But not this time.
Targeting the Bang family came up by chance. It was the luck of the draw, but it seemed like faith or destiny drew Daehyun and Youngjae to the siblings that deserved to be exposed for whatever it was they were trying to hide behind a mask Daehyun could see right through.
“No.” He answered with a glare that perked the corners of Yongguk’s lips.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.” Daehyun leaned back upon the trunk of the tree and slipped down to the same sitting position his ’capture’ first found him in. “If you’re not calling off your mutt than I guess I’m staying here.” He wasn’t moving. Daehyun planted himself in place with a scowl on his face that indicated just how serious he was.
“You know it’s going to rain, right?”
What did he thought he was? Blind? Daehyun could see the darkening shades of gray overhead and the orange tint of the setting sun dulling in the midst of clouds that prepared for a downpour. “It’s not like I’m made of sugar.” A little water couldn’t hurt him. The way Daehyun saw it, he was better off getting wet than earning himself a punch to the face.
“Suit yourself.” Just when he thought Yongguk had just a sliver of a soul left in him, the bastard closed the window, locked it and left his dog under the tree Daehyun wasn’t going to escape from any time soon.
“Damn it.” What was he going to do now? He could call the police. ‘But then again, I’d probably get in trouble for trespassing.’ It was probably best to call his mom. ‘And get myself grounded…no thanks.’
Everything was so screwed up that he actually called Youngjae to buy a piece of steak at the nearest market place in hopes it would lure the dog away from the tree. But did that work? Of course not, because the dog was as evil and as conniving as his master, and all his efforts left him was a piece of raw meat he had to pay Youngjae back later.
There was no other option left but to wait there as the sky mourned for his lost at a game he thought it was his to control. The pitter patter of rain hitting against the windowpane told him otherwise as he watched Yongguk go about his business as if Daehyun didn’t exist.
He leaned his head back against the tree and watched the awning of leaves attempt to protect him from the rain. Not a single thought crossed his mind until the ring of a text message caught his attention.
Just go in that window and get out of that tree.
No
Jung fuqin Daehyun! Get out of that tree now!
What are you? My mother? I said no.
Goddamn it Daehyun. It’s raining and it’s been 2 hours since I’ve been standing here waiting for you.
Then go. I’m staying right where I am.
Don’t make me get your down there. ಠ_ಠ
LOL I want to see you get past ‘Cerberus’.
Don’t LOL me. This isn’t funny! I’m worried over here and you’re acting like this is a joke. Stop being stubborn and get in that window now or I swear to god I’m going to get bitten or maybe killed by that dog just so I can get you down. I’ll do it Daehyun!!! Don’t make me do it! ಠ_ಠ
I don’t’ wanna go through the window. I shall persevere ᕦ(òдóˇ)ᕤ
You’re such a baby
ヾ(｡｀Д´｡)ﾉ
You have to go to work too…wtf Daehyun!
Cover for me :D
No ಠ_ಠ
Yes ಠ⌣ಠ
No ಠ_ಠ
╥﹏╥
I’ll cover for you when you get down from there.
I said I won’t Youngjae. I’m not going to make him win. I can’t give him the satisfaction of me surrendering when I know I can stay out here and stand my ground. So please Youngjae! Please please please just cover for me and trust that I know what I’m doing. ಥ_ಥ
YOU ARE AN IDIOT. YOU ARE GOING TO FALL OUT OF THAT TREE AND DIE, AND I’M GOING TO GO TO YOUR FUNERAL JUST TO TELL THE WORLD HOW STUPID YOU WERE…BUT FINE!!! FINEEEEE~ I’LL COVER FOR YOU BUT I SWEAR, IF YOU’RE NOT DOWN THERE BY THE TIME I’M DONE WORK I’M GOING TO SHOOT YOU DOWN WITH THE POTATO GUN WE BUILT FOR OUR SCIENCE PROJECT!!!!!! YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!
I wuv you too Youngjae (づ￣ 3￣)づ
I’m going to slap you!
(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
So it began. Youngjae took a taxi to cover his shift and Daehyun sat there without a single clue of what to do. The dog was still waiting for the chance to sink his teeth into him and it looked like Yongguk was nowhere in sight.
It was cold.
The chilly night air was seeping into the marrow of his bones and, as much as he hated giving in, the ‘artic’ winds made it impossible for him to stay in place. With his mind set on a ‘semi-surrender’, Daehyun carefully straddled the tree branch and slowly made his way to the window. He reached out to open it but, as expected, it was locked. “Yah!” He pound on the glass, the rain muffling his cries even as he screamed Yongguk’s name. “Yah!! Demon! Let me in!”
No one was coming. Yongguk was probably downstairs on the sofa with a cup of cocoa in hand. The very image of him chilling in front of the fireplace infuriated the teen who was soaked from head to toe. He couldn’t stand the rain, couldn’t really bare with the icy chill that ran through his veins and so he did the only thing that was left for him to do. Daehyun took out his phone, held it firmly in his hand and used the very corner of it to bust into Yongguk’s window.
It took a few strikes, but when it came time for cracks and fissures to give into the impact of his blows, glass shattered and a very enraged Yongguk came barging into the room seconds later. “You broke my window!”
But he damaged more than his window.
Blood dripped along side Daehyun’s hand, and to think, the boy was more concerned with the safety of his phone he tucked away in his pocket than the injury he sustained. “If you didn’t locked me out I wouldn’t need to break your window.”
“If you just came in to begin with I wouldn’t have locked you out.”
“Well if you just had called your stupid dog than you wouldn’t have had to locked me out.”
“And if you didn’t trespass, I wouldn’t have felt the need to send out my dog.”
Jung Daehyun had a retort for everything. He could’ve easily brought up his backpack, but Yongguk had already took a hold of his wrist and tugged him toward the open window he was more than reluctant to climb through. He did though. Daehyun climbed right in because he had to and that left him tugging his wrist out of Yongguk’s grasp once his feet hit solid ground. “You made me bleed.”
“You made yourself bleed.” Yongguk accused with a glare that rivaled Daehyun’s own.
Sparks had all the potential in the world to generate between the fiery gaze that locked onto one another. Averting their eyes from the glower they both shared was close to impossible even when Yongguk wedged his fingers between his lips to whistle for his hell hound. “Sit on the bed.”
Daehyun scoffed at the demand. “Your dog may be inclined to follow your orders, but I’m not. So step aside so I can go home. ” Much to Daehyun‘s surprise, Yongguk broke off the staring contest and got out of his way with a hand stretched toward the open door.
“By all means, do as you please.” He wasn’t his prisoner. By the indifferent expression, it wasn’t Yongguk’s intention to hold him against his will. Daehyun thought he was home free. He really and truly believed he could walk right out of the door; but oh how wrong he was.
Woof! Woof!
Once he was a step away from the threshold that separated him from his escape, the snarling teeth of Yongguk’s dog obstructed his path. He barked and barked, and kept on barking as each step the dog took forward caused Daehyun to take one back. “Call off your dog.”
“What? I can’t hear you over my dog?!” Such bull! He was practically enjoying the way Daehyun was forced to back up into Yongguk’s bed. The bastard was smiling up a storm by that point; And here he thought Yongguk had the heart to let an injured man walk free. “Fair warning…you move an inch off that bed and he’ll attack you.”
Daehyun helplessly stared as Yongguk exited the room and left him with the beast that watched him like a hawk. Though, it didn’t take long for the older to return with a first aid kit and a set of black clothing that was thrown onto the bed beside him. Daehyun stared at the materials for a while in confusion, his hesitation giving Yongguk the much needed seconds to lean back upon the beautifully carved mahogany dresser that was set in front of him. “What are you waiting for? This isn’t some kind of sappy kdrama…wrap up your own wound.”
“Tch! I wasn’t waiting for you to help me.” Yongguk must’ve seriously been out of his mind to even assume such an outlandish thing. Out of pure agitation, Daehyun exaggeratingly grabbed at the supplies that were at his disposal and tended to the laceration alongside the palm of his hand. “You’re such an .”
Yongguk let out a small chuckle. “I guess it takes an to know an …you .”
The nerve! Daehyun wanted so much to give him a piece of his mind, but decided against it as he held his tongue and focused his attention on his wound instead. The sound of the rain mended with the silence that filtered the still stale air both calmed him and irritated him to no end. It was quiet…too quiet, and the lack of distractions, other than nature’s cries, was getting on Daehyun’s last nerve.
But perhaps it was best to cope with the silence than hearing the low irritating tenor of Yongguk‘s voice. “445,000 won.”
There was a questioning look that suddenly emerged when Daehyun lifted his gaze from the injury he had finished dressing. “What?” He tilted his head off to the side ever so slightly as if the smirk on Yongguk’s face would be bearable from another angle.
“You owe me 445,000 won for the window.”
“I thought this wasn’t some kind of sappy kdrama?” A small, nearly untraceable chuckle slipped passed lips that curved into a humorless grin. “So what? You’re going to keep me here and order me to do some menial labor work around the house until I pay off the window, is that it?” Thanks to his little brother, Daehyun knew a thing or two about what went on in kdramas. So, if he had any say in the matter, there was just no way any of it was going to happen because, for one thing, it wasn’t his fault.
“Not exactly.” Yongguk pushed himself off the elegantly crafted dresser that was fit for a king and took a step toward him with arms folded loosely over his chest. “I just want the pictures you took and we can call it even.”
“But I don’t have any pictures of you. I already told you that.”
“And I know you’re lying.”
Daehyun prepared to stand up out of frustration, but was denied the attempt when a growl emitted from Boukki’s snarling lips. “What are you afraid of anyways? That people are going to find out about the scars on your back? What happened? Who did that to you? Did you do that to yourself, is that why you’re so afraid that I might have evidence of some sort of secret you don’t want exposed?” The journal he created made him develop an inquisitive approach to every situation that was set before him. Who? What? Where? When? Why? He questioned everything. The world was confusing after all and as such, it made the people in them just as difficult to understand as the calm and collective look in the eyes that stared back at him.
“Get out.”
“What?”
“Are you hard of hearing?” Yongguk pointed to the door. “I said get out.”
“But it’s raining outside. You‘re going to send me out in that hurricane?”
“Oh, so now you don’t want to leave? God damn, you’re a contradiction within itself. It's not even a hurricane.”
Before Daehyun could pre-empt another question, or another argument for that matter, Yongguk took him roughly by the wrist and yanked him off of the bed. “W-What are you doing?” The brute took the clothes that was set on the bed in hand before dragging Daehyun out into the corridor that was lavished in riches.
Ornate family photos and elegant paintings lined the opaque white of walls that were accentuated by oak trim moulding made from the very same material as the furniture that laid about the house. The powder-blue porcelain baluster vases and wooden cases filled with antiquities were so distracting that Daehyun didn’t realize where Yongguk was taking him until he was shoved into a room. “Since you don’t want to leave, shut up, put this on,” He threw the clothes at his face. “And go to sleep.”
“What? Sleep? It’s only 8.”
“I wake up really early in the morning.”
“But I’m hungry. If you’re keeping me captive you should feed me.”
What did he think this was? A hotel? “I’m not keeping you captive…you decided you didn’t want to go out in the rain, which makes you an inconvenience.”
“No,” Daehyun corrected. “That makes me your guest so you better -” The door slammed in his face before another onslaught of insults could begin. However, it didn’t stop him from opening the door back up when a concern crossed his mind. “How do I know you don’t got some kind of creeper camera in this room.”
“Why the hell would I want to record you?”
“I don’t know…because you‘re a creeper and your crazy.”
As Yongguk slowly retreated down the hallway, he didn’t bother to turn around to give off the most annoying expression he could muster up. He just kept on walking with his dog following close behind him. “It’s funny you say that when you’re the one whose sneaking into places you don’t belong in just to watch me undress.”
“I wasn’t watching you!” He yelled, his distress carrying throughout the corridor. “I was just…I was -” And yet again, Yongguk slammed the door in the midst of an explanation that was cut off short. Daehyun huffed, his lower lip jutting out before he too slammed his own door like a child.
After checking every corner of the room for cameras or recording devices of any sort, he changed his wet clothes, threw them off to the side and plopped himself onto the soft duvet covers that must’ve cost more than the monthly payment of a car.
How he got use to the idea of staying over the night in a demon’s house? He wasn’t sure. One thing led to another and logic just took over before his stubborn ego had the chance to make him walk out of the door. ‘I don’t have money…my house is miles away…I’m injured and it’s cold out. I’ll probably die from starvation before I get half way home.’ So what was there to do but fall back onto the bed and stare up at the ceiling as if it was the most important thing in the world. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours and, before he knew it, his phone rang which indicated a night shift that came to a close.
“Are you home?” Youngjae asked the second Daehyun answered with a whispered hello.
“No.”
“What?! You’re still in the tree?”
“No, I’m in his house.” There was silence before a weary ‘huh’ sounded from the other end. “I said I’m in his house.”
“What are you doing in his house? Get out of there and -”
“I was thinking.”
Youngjae let out a groan. “Oh no, don’t you dare ‘think’ Daehyun. Whenever you think, you dig yourself into a bigger hole than you’re already in.”
“I’m in Yongguk’s house which means Myu Na’s room is -”
“Hold up! Don’t you dare! Don’t you go there!” He didn’t like where this was going and knowing just how brash his best friend could be, Youngjae was already experiencing a heart attack of a lifetime just thinking of the plans that ran through Daehyun's idiotic head.
“I’m going to find her room.”
“NO! DON’T! YOU STAY WHEREVER YOU ARE OR I’LL FIND A WAY TO BEAT THE LAW OF PHYSICS AND STRANGLE YOU THROUGH THE PHONE!” But alas, Daehyun was already out of the door and creeping through the darkened corridor. Myu Na was their target. They were supposed to get down and dirty in order to retrieve a secret that she was hiding. Daehyun had to be crazy to pass up an opportunity that only came up once in a blue moon.
“I think I found her room.” He announced in barely a whisper as he stepped into the pinkly embellished abode that was fit for a princess.
“Daehyun you’re friken crazy. Yongguk will kill you if he finds you snooping around in his little sister’s room.”
“But I swear I can get something for our book. There’s bound to be a diary here somewhere.” Like he said many times before, Daehyun’s high school journal was his obsession. He would climb over mountains and dive right into the very depths of hell itself if it meant adding another secret to the pages waiting to be filled.
“What do you see?” Youngjae knew he couldn’t stop him. It was too late to convince him to turn back around, so he went along with it as curiosity got the best of him.
“Homework…scrapes of paper neatly stacked on her desk. There’s a lot of dolls but nothing interesting.” Books on photography filled her shelves with the occasional romance novel caught in between. Everything, from her jewelry to her clothing, was filed away neatly in their respective drawers. Nothing seemed out of place and the tidiness of it all only seem to encourage Daehyun to dig even further as he went through what appeared to be her underwear drawer.
It was wrong.
Shuffling through bras and were wrong on so many levels but he figured it was the most sensible place for a woman to hide things where many wouldn’t look, especially when living with two brothers. “Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”
“N-Nothing…” He unintentionally squeaked out as the array of undergarments tightened his throat.
“Jung Daehyun.”
“What? I said I’m looking.”
“What are you looking through?”
“Her drawers.”
“You ert!”
“W-What?” Daehyun stammered out in a flurry of innocence. “I-I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“I just know you’re going through her undies!”
“So what if I am. I’m just looking for her secrets.”
“Oh, and that involves her ? You’re such a . I don’t even go through Himchan’s underwear drawer.”
“Why would you even need to go through his undies. You two wear the same kinds. You both are guys for christ sakes. I didn’t even know guys even had a separate drawer for their briefs.”
Why were they even arguing about this? Daehyun didn’t have time to discuss the brand of underwear Youngjae found appealing because he had a mission to accomplish. “Anyways, if you’re done talking about your boyfriend’s ‘girlish’ habits, I’d like to say that I think I found something.”
“What is it?”
Wedged in the farthest corner of her drawer laid a white jewelry box lined with gold. It was bounded by leather and embroidered with a design that fit the style of any girl who adored the sight of decorative flowers stitched with precision and care. It was personalized to her liking and seemed to be a loving gift, what with her name cursively engraved in the middle of the lid Daehyun soon opened.
There laid a silver pentagon shaped necklace embedded with stud diamonds that had to be worth a fortune. “I’m going to send you a picture.”
Picture sent:
“It looks familiar.” Youngjae stated once he made sure he saved the photo to every email account that was dedicated to their book.
“I kind of think I know what it is. I'm pretty sure she got it from -” The muffled creek of a door sounding just beyond the halls he ventured through startlingly interrupted him. It sparked a panic that made his heart skip a beat as he rushed to put everything back the way it was. Daehyun shoved the box with it’s necklace back into the drawer, and as heard footsteps approaching, he ended the call without a goodbye. There was no time to think, no amount of seconds to spare to come up with an escape plan because he could hear the strong and powerful gait of another approaching.
With the frilly pink bed in his line of view, Daehyun got on all fours and crawled beneath it just as light flooded through the open door. He seriously felt like he was in a horror movie waiting, praying and hoping the monster that slowly rounded the bed would go away and leave him be. It was nerve wracking. He could feel his heart palpitating out of control as he laid as motionlessly on his stomach as he could. ‘Buddah…if you can hear my prayers…please don’t let him find me…I promise I won’t steal Youngjae’s food again.’ God, Buddah, Allah, or whoever it was who had been listening to his pleas must’ve traced the lie within a promise that couldn’t be kept; for the tension rose out of nowehere and his nails dug and scrapped into the carpet beneath him when he was dragged out from under the bed by his ankles.
It happened so fast.
Because as of that moment, he was staring into the eyes of a monster who flipped him on his back and grabbed him by the wrists. There was no care in the world how painful it was for Daehyun to be yanked to his feet by the fury that instilled into the darken hues of eyes that seemed to bore right into his soul. “What are you doing in my sister’s room?” The venomous potency in his stare was as deadly as the words that escaped him. It was hard to speak, hard to think and especially hard to grasp onto a reality he wished was simply just a dream within a dream.
“I-I…um…I just…I was…” He was caught. That was all there was to it and seeing as Yongguk wasn’t going to get anything out of him, he dragged him into the hall in that same rough and pushy manner that caught Daehyun off guard. He first followed Yongguk into his room where he dug into his drawers for something that Daehyun couldn’t identify with how his mind failed to multitask on the events that occurred and the excuses that bombarded his mind. What was he supposed to say anyways? How the hell was he going to lie his way out of this mess?
They went stomping back down the corridor and Daehyun soon found himself back where his plans all started. “You are a pain in the .”
Daehyun clenched his teeth. “Like you said, it takes an to know an , you jackass.”
Why couldn’t he just keep his mouth shut? He was already in a ditch by this point and now he was preparing to dig himself into his own grave. Yongguk spun him around to face him, the intensity of his stare pushing every retort at the tip of his tongue back down the windpipe from whence it came. “I guess you’re right, you ing smartass.”
In one quick and fluid motion, Yongguk took Daehyun’s uninjured wrist, drew it toward the bedpost and handcuffed him to the bed before saving himself from the wrath that was soon to come as he took a step back. “W-What the hell is this?” Daehyun yanked at his restraint, his pissed-o-meter raising through the roof.
“You know how wild dogs are, don’t you? They roam around and get themselves in trouble because they’re just too stupid to control themselves.” Daehyun wasn’t one to scare so easily. He had gone through enough in his life to face his problems and his demons head on without the slightest expression of fear marring every curve, every line, and every imperceptible nook and cranny that made up his stern features. But when one stands in front of a man like Yongguk and had his wrist taken into a grasp that was inescapable, it was hard for anyone, especially for someone as adverse to intimidation as Daehyun was, to speak his mind. He could feel the hot fumes of the devil’s breath against his skin, Yongguk's nails digging into flesh that involuntarily trembled within the unbreakable hold of a man that just wouldn’t let him go. “So what else is there to do but to tame him with chains that’ll keep him where I want him.”
“You are crazy.” The statement acerbically seeped through gritting teeth. “I got lost finding the bathroom…that was it.”
But Yongguk wasn’t stupid enough to buy into his lies. He could see right through him, and the smile that soon touched the older’s lips drew closer as an electrifying stare ignited between them. “And you so happen to find yourself under my sister’s bed?” His laughter felt as if hell’s flames brushed against his skin. It was burning, hot and heavy like an inferno that couldn’t be extinguished. “Even you can come up with a better lie than that.” Yongguk shoved him back onto the bed, the glare still ever present in the younger’s eyes even as Yongguk’s dog made his way into the room. “Boukki…stay.” And just like the obedient mutt that it was, Boukki sat on the floor like a solider on guard duty.
“You’re going to leave that mutt in here with me? As if being handcuff to the bed isn’t enough…”
“It’s either him or me…take your pick.”
What Yongguk was doing was illegal on so many levels! He had no right to chain Daehyun up like a prisoner. Sure, he was sneaking around and going through his sister’s things, but, in his self-centered mind, Daehyun thought it was more than appropriate for him to do so. It was for his book after all.
“I’ll take my chances with the mutt.” And with that, Yongguk went off on his merry way, but not without stopping at the doorway when yet another remark hit his ear. “Oh, and just so you know, I’m going to keep you up all night." Daehyun stated with a wicked smirk. "I’m going to scream, sing and just ruin your ‘beauty sleep’ if you don’t take these handcuffs off of me.”
Yongguk threw an incorrigible smirk of his own over his shoulders as he shrugged uncaringly. “Go ahead. Watch what’ll happen to you if you try.”
A/N
Gosh, these chapters appear so long OTL
I'm sorry if long ch. annoy you but damn I didn't know where to stop
oh and if the chat pictures look screwy on your comp than Idk how to fix that /dies
but yeahhh~ enjoyed writing this ch. I had fun...all I can imagine Daehyun's face looking like tho is this:
DH: YAHHH!
lulz xD And this shall mark the day I have spazzed over their new song Hurricane...kekekekkeke~
And hello and much love to my new and old subscribers <3
Comments