four
A Worth Obsessing Over
A squeal of a pig, a screech of a cat; or may it be nails on a chalkboard or the banters of a haggard wench; Whatever one decides to call the howls and the banshee cries that leeched through his walls, Bang Yongguk couldn’t sleep for the life of him. A whale was dying in the other room as Jung Daehyu kept his word with each horrendous howl that belted right out of him.
“I’m going to rip his throat out.” The menacing threat muffled into the pillow he buried his face into. Maybe, just maybe, if he tried hard enough, he could smother himself to death. It seemed inviting enough and Yongguk was just two seconds away from committing suicide, when suddenly, everything stopped.
There was no singing, no screams, not a single bark from his dog (who knew better than to attack an idiot without orders) and nothing more depriving him of the precious sleep he yearned for. “Thank god!” However, the celebration and the sigh of relief that escaped him came far too soon; for the racket began once again and seem to amplify tenfolds. Daehyun sang a tune that was so off key, Yongguk thought the windows were going to shatter into pieces and set the house aflame.
“I hope I’m serenading you into a restful sleep Yongguk." Daehyun called out in a sing-song voice. "People say my singing has that lovely affect to sooth even the most wretched souls.” Yongguk could practically hear the smirk in his voice and it irritated him to no end. “I call my next song, Hurricane. It’ll be a lullaby that even a demon like you can't help but to succumb to.” The little ‘hurricane’ outside couldn’t drown out the high notes that accompanied lyrics that didn’t make a of sense. He wanted to die. Yongguk just wanted to jump out of his broken window before his mind split in two.
“Ohhhhh~ NoooooooOOooo~ Ohh~ Yeah~! We hurricane~! I hurricane ~!” He's what? How the hell does one even become a hurricane? It was nowhere near possible. Unless he was referring to the destructive force of a shaky vibrato that couldn’t keep his voice in tune, than he was surely hitting the nail right on the head with that song.
"Goddamn it." Unable to take it any longer, Yongguk threw the covers off of him and forced himself out of bed. Sleep was way out of reach and Yongguk could only remedy his frustrations by putting on his headphones, turning up his music (that made actual sense) and sitting at his desk where a laptop laid open before him. Now it was time to keep his own word as Daehyun's punshiment came to mind.
It wasn’t his intention to stoop so low, but Daehyun didn’t give him any other choice.
Opening his desk drawer after entering a numeric code, Yongguk pulled out the bag Daehyun went through hell and back to get. Surely, he was against snooping around other people’s stuff, but when you’re dealing with an idiot who loved getting between a man and his sleep, rules and morality were thrown right out the window.
It was boredom that caused him to sift through notebooks and an Ipod that held nothing of interest. He thought his efforts to pass the time until Daehyun sang himself to sleep would go in vain, that was until he plucked a USB flash drive in the shape of a gun right out of his bag. ‘Might as well see how stupid he really is.’ Reading essays and looking through another’s homework in the middle of the night wasn’t his definition of ‘fun,’ but it was either that or strangle Daehyun to death.
He sat there expecting word documents and powerpoint presentations to fill his screen, but what peaked his interest and pulled him out of his slouched position were hundreds upon hundreds of pictures that were anything but school related. There was so much to look at that he chose one out of random and up came a prepubescent Jung Daehyun with other kids who appeared to be close to his age. They were twelve-years-old or so, mere children who smiled for the camera with arms draped over each other’s shoulders, their attachment and the genuine spark of happiness in their eyes displaying a tight-knit relationship that was quite a rarity of sorts. One boy beside him, a blond, had to be Chinese. There was no doubt about it because Yongguk could recall seeing him and hearing his name around town.
“Luhan.” The group of people that surrounded Daehyun were notorious for drinking, partying and living it up as petty delinquents who literally treated life as a game. They took risk, pushed regrets aside and looked out for one another like a big dysfunctional family no one could escape from. “Why would he be involved with these guys?” Contrary to popular belief, Yongguk knew Daehyun quite well, and it wasn’t because of his so called, ‘sources’. He just had a knack for spotting those in a crowd with a hidden agenda. Like he said before, Daehyun was quiet most of the time, appeared skittish upon first glance, but when Yongguk found himself seeing the boy at a distance in coffee shops, bookstores, food stands, and celebratory gatherings, which included school functions that huddled all grade levels together, he saw a lot of parts to him that were both interesting, weird, and ominous all at the same time.
It was like Daehyun had a whole other life not even his best friend knew of.
Yongguk leaned back in his chair and clicked through at least a hundred photos before stopping at yet another picture that revealed a very intimate bond between Daehyun and a girl who wrapped her arms around him from behind. Taking in her appearance and adding at least five years of maturity to her already youthful features, Yongguk was 99.99% sure the girl who stuck her tongue out to the camera and pressed her cheek against Daehyun’s own was the epitome of a girl made of spun sugar with the thorns of a rose added right in. But Yongguk soon excused her beauty to direct his attention to the hand that racked through Daehyun’s hair. She was pointing at something in the general area there, and upon closer inspection, Yongguk found himself taking a few minutes to reassess the thoughts that soon ran through his head.
He turned off the computer and came to realize that silence was all that filled the air once he took off his headphones. An hour had passed since he began breeching into a life Daehyun had a reason to keep on his person at all times. And it wasn’t about the people in them, or what kind of relationships his past consisted of, but it was all about him and no other. Yongguk didn’t fully understand it but what little he thought he knew led him to quietly walk into the room Daehyun was currently sleeping in.
Boukki had raised his head upon seeing his master close the door behind him.
Yongguk walked across the room to Daehyun’s bedside, his confusion and an unrestrained part of his curiosity drawing fingers carefully toward the other’s face. According to his sources, Daehyun was a heavy sleeper and the information proven itself to be true when the tips of Yongguk’s fingers began padding along his scalp without stirring him from his slumbers. Not a single movement was made and Daehyun remained undisturbed, sleeping soundly with each shallow breath signifying a dream he wasn’t going to escape from any time soon.
He had to admit, seeing him in such a calming state with his mouth closed for once had it’s appeal. For one thing, he wasn’t talking and singing like a madman and that could be considered the most beautiful thing to have ever occurred in Yongguk’s sleep deprived eyes. His gaze shifted however and soon fell over silk tresses that were gently pushed aside. There was nothing out of the ordinary he spotted as of yet, but he pressed on, streaming long, nimble digits through his hair and taking in the peace and tranquility that instilled within a man who was unaware of the world around him.
But things were going bump in the night. The sound of the front door scared the life out of him as his hand instinctively whipped away from the auburn locks of Daehyun’s hair. He rushed out the door without even thinking and was banking on going into his room undetected. But it was too late. Jiho, with their sister passed out in his arms, spotted him just as they reached the landing of the staircase. They stared at one another for a while, the two brothers seeming to challenge each other in a contest of who was going to ask the first question that came to mind.
“What were you doing in the guest room?” And oddly enough, Jiho caved into a defeat Yongguk was known for falling into.
“I’m sleeping in there.”
“Sleeping in there? What’s wrong with your room?”
He could lie up a storm that was just as convincing and effective as Daehyuns'. Yongguk was the master of deceit, but with so much going on in one night, and literally having another man handcuffed to the bed just beyond the door his little brother stared at, it was a tad bit difficult to hold one’s composure amidst the panic that whirled within “My window got busted into.”
“How did that happen? Someone broke in? Are you alright? Did they-”
“It’s not that,” Yongguk interrupted. “The most retarded branch in the world just broke off the tree and decided to crash into my window.”
“Oh.”
“So what’s wrong with Myu Na? I thought you two were supposed to visit mom at her office and stay the night?”
Jiho adjusted their sister in his arms before a shrug touched his shoulder. “I thought that too but mom was called off to another work site last minute and so I just decided to drive back home. Myu Na fell asleep. But Hyung, if you want, you can sleep in my bed and I can take the guest room…I know how much you hate the stiff mattress in there.”
And have him discover a classmate imprisoned in their home? Not a chance. “It’s okay. Just get her into bed and go to sleep. It’s getting late.” Odd didn’t begin to describe the way Yongguk stared at him with an eager, almost otherworldly look in his eyes. As he made his way to his sister’s room, Jiho would look over his shoulder to see his older brother intently watching every move he made, that gaze of his sending chills down his spine.
After Jiho was out of sight, Yongguk backed himself into the door, his eyes never leaving the empty corridor until he was safely in the room. He locked the door, looking back to see Daehyun was still asleep. Thank god for that!
Now came the awkward part. Yongguk stared at the bed and its occupant who used his arm as a makeshift pillow. His forearm was elevated in an uncomfortable position that made his hand hang just above his head due to the handcuffs that were secured to the bedpost. If anything, his wrist would bruise by morning. ‘Not that he doesn’t deserve it.’ He ruined his window after all. Jung Daehyun, the cocky smartass of the century, threw his sleeping schedule way off and because of that, Yongguk believed his current punishment was equivalent to a timeout – a minor penalty to say the least.
So why he took that dangling wrist into his hand was confusing. But what was more mindboggling had to have been when the lock of the handcuff sounded and Daehyun was set free. Yongguk was a bastard, but he wasn’t enough of a bastard to inflict any kind of pain on others, whether it be physically or emotionally. ‘It’s not like he’ll be able to escape without me noticing anyways.’ Unlike Daehyun, Yongguk was a light sleeper.
‘So now what?’
To sleep on the floor or to sleep on the bed…that was the question. Yongguk rubbed at the back of his neck in slight agitation. He didn’t understand how the hell he got himself into this situation; not that it should have even be considered a ‘situation’ to begin with but still…it was annoying. ‘Aish, whatever! Just whatever! This is so stupid’ Yongguk rounded the bed and plopped himself beside the brunette whose back was turned to him.
And again, thank the gods for having Daehyun as far away from him as possible!
“Yongguk?” A man came knocking at his door. “Hyung!?” Who that man was had to have been none other than the definition of a pest who should’ve thought twice before disturbing his sleep. “Yongguk?” Because when the ruckus continued and movement was felt beside him, it only took seconds for Yongguk to wake up to a stare that was as indifferent as his own. Daehyun and Yongguk locked their eyes upon one another for what felt like minutes before madness sank in just as a single flutter of lashes snapped them back to a reality that felt more like a nightmare than anything else.
Daehyun was the first to sit up with a look on his face that foretold a plan he obviously didn’t, or probably couldn’t, think through. All he wanted was a way out and to do that, he had to make his presence known. Daehyun was seconds away from speaking, mere miliseconds from revealing an existence that wasn’t supposed to be within the confines of his home, and he panicked. For the first time in a long while, Bang Yongguk acted upon instinct and cupped a hand roughly over Daehyun’s mouth before he could say a single word.
He had to slam him back onto the bed with him just to subdue the amount of bucking and thrashing that came from the disobedient teen who wanted someone to get him away from the lunatic who held him against his heaving chest. The adrenaline must’ve been coursing through the other's veins because Daehyun could feel the unnecessary amount of strength exerted from the leg that wrapped around his knees. He couldn’t move because by the way Yongguk secured his hold over both of his arms, Daehyun felt as if he was in his own personal ‘Yongguk Cocoon’ that kept him close to the man he wanted nothing more but to strangle with his own bare hands.
“What do you want Jiho?!” The anger was prevalent in his voice and Yongguk wanted to kick himself for the mistake that spurred a question he didn’t want to answer right now.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine…just tell me what the hell do you want?”
“Myu Na thought that we could all go to school together since she doesn’t want to drive in the rain with her car.”
“We all can’t fit in my car, you know that.” He had a viper that could only seat two people. It was a sports car for sakes, and the only way they could all have a family ride to school would be if, and only if, he threw Jiho in the trunk. “Tell Myu Na to take her car.”
“But she doesn’t want to get it dirty with the mud and all.” Yongguk didn’t have time to deal with his sister’s petty problems. Daehyun’s constant need to twist right out of his grasp was enough of a chore as it is, and he really didn’t need yet another complication hurling his way. “Just take my car then.”
“Are you sure? Are you coming with us or –”
“I’ll just find another way to school. Just take my car and leave now before I change my mind…my keys are on my desk.” Jiho was quick to take the rare opportunity and departed from the door with an elated word of gratitude that sent him running through the halls.
He may have been away from the door, but he and his sister was still within earshot of the banshee Yongguk had learned (the hard way) was capable of carrying his voice from one end of the house to the next. There was no way he’d risk uncovering lips that had the potential of just ing him over with questions his siblings would pester him with.
Why is Daehyun here? What were you two doing? Why were you two sleeping in the same bed? Were you two –
Must one finish that sentence? It was obvious the floodgates of all things ‘gay related’ would spawn in the depth of minds that were too deluded for words to describe. So he had to keep the palm of his hand cupped over the mouth that was trying to form words in spite of him. There was a dangerous glint in Daehyun's eyes, the anger, the frustration, the agitation and the hatred igniting in the abyss of dark irises that tried to burn a hole right through him.
Unfortuantely for Daehyun, Yongguk was unfazed by the close proximity of a glare that only made him smile. “Only serves you right for trying to ‘sing’ me to sleep last night.” Daehyun’s eyes only darken further as a bout of energy from deep within came out of nowhere. He used his last bit of strength to free himself from the entanglement of limbs that kept him laid beside the demon that only made an escape close to impossible.
He couldn’t break free and that emasculated him. Daehyun couldn’t take control of the situation and that sickened him. He succumbed to the encirclement of an arm that held him close and the bindings of a leg that kept him from pushing away from the heat that emanated from every inch of Yongguk’s body. His head was tucked at the crook of the other’s arm, Yongguk’s fingers acting as a gag that prevented him from expressing just how pissed off he was.
“This is how it feels,” Yongguk began with the heat of his words brushing against his cheek. “When you have something personal taking from you it feels like an imprisonment you can’t escape from…especially when that something is important to you.” If he was talking about the pictures, than Daehyun was more than convinced Yongguk was taking things a little too far. They were just picture! It wasn‘t like he was using them to blackmail him. But he didn’t get that.
Yongguk was too damn stupid to understand that!
“It’s , doesn’t it?” The inquiry rang lowly in his ear, the deep intonation of his voice seeming to nip at the lobe there as Yongguk turned Daehyun’s head slightly off to the side so that every enunciation and every syllable that escaped him in a whisper was heard loud and clear. “It just to lose at your own game.” Men harbored an ego that burned with a kind of fire that couldn’t be extinguished. That eternal flame of honor flickered with a narcissistic way of thinking that wouldn’t allow others to belittle them. Such a blaze burned within and as such, Daehyun's ‘pissed-o-meter’ rose high above the heavens with each breath he took.
Footsteps could be heard descending the staircase, the front door slamming and the engine of Yongguk’s car roaring thereafter before it sped off into the busy streets of Seoul. Yongguk had let him go once the coast was clear and prepared himself for fists to come his way once a considerable amount of distance was set between them. Surprisingly, Daehyun didn’t move. He just laid there on the bed with his stone cold expression directing toward the ceiling.
“Lose at my own game, huh?” Daehyun slowly sat up and turned to the man who still had an arrogant smirk perched upon his lips.
He knew he physically showed Daehyun how to put someone in their place. Yongguk was confident of it and yet, when he looked upon the curve of upturn lips that soon reflected his own, he couldn’t help but to feel a twinge of doubt. “You think it’s over?” Daehyun chuckled. “The game is just beginning.”
He swung an arm without warning and a pillow came flying right into Yongguk’s face with such force, that the impact of the blow disoriented him long enough for Daehyun to make his escape. He jumped to his feet within seconds time and leapt over the yapping mutt who chased after him as soon as he landed on the carpeted floor. Daehyun ran for the door and slammed it shut before Lucifer’s beast could sink his teeth into him. Yongguk was coming. The curses and this thudding footsteps followed after him and Daehyun wasted no time in hightailing it out of there.
He blitzed through the hallway and ran passed the staircase that would’ve led to the front door. But an escape was the last thing on his mind because he had other matters to attend to that involved a particular room he locked himself into. He grabbed a wooden chair and wedged the backrest of it beneath the knob of Yongguk’s bedroom door for good measure. What he needed was to buy himself some time as he scanned the area for his bag. Luckily for him it was set upon the desk with everything appearing in tact.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The anger could be heard through fists that struck the wooden door. He could feel the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end, his adrenaline flowing out of control as hands naturally trembled by the misguided bout of excitement that ran through his veins. “Daehyun, you are so dead!”
He ignored the empty threats as he frantically rummaged through his bag for the USB drive he endured a night in hell to grab. It wasn’t there and when he looked around the desk in search for it, he finally found the little device in the port of Yongguk’s computer. “Damn it!” Now the concern sank in and he wondered what the hell did that bastard see. ‘Did he save any of it? Holy crap! I’m going to literally be pushing up daisies if he did.’ He couldn’t risk it, and with Yongguk minutes away from breaking into his own door, Daehyun didn’t have the time to look through his computer. So he did the only he could do in the middle of an adrenaline inducing situation: He stuffed Yongguk’s laptop in his bag and slung it over his shoulders.
The pounding stopped, only for it to be replaced seconds later with what sounded like a lockpick fiddling with the mechanisms of the doorknob. It was Daehyun’s cue to rip the plastic from the broken window and crawl through before making his way down the tree as quickly and as safely as possible. By the time he was two branches away from solid ground, he could hear the door give in and the chair being thrown aside. Daehyun looked up to see Yongguk staring down at him with eyes that just seem to radiate how much he despised the very essence of his soul and being.
Daehyun smirked up at him and perhaps that triggered a series of events that would soon make him regret practically rubbing his victory in Yongguk’s face.
“Boukki.” It was time to move. “Get him!” He had to move and fast because now the dog was coming for him with barks that were closing in. As soon as it was safe for him to do so, Daehyun dropped from the tree and ran for his life to that same fountain Youngjae used to get himself over the brick wall. ‘Ceberus’ jumped through his doggy hole in the door and sprinted across the lawn at a speed that widened Daehyun’s fear-stricken eyes the moment he looked over his shoulder.
The rottweiler was trained to kill. He could see that and first-handedly experienced it when teeth clamped onto the hem of the sweat pants Yongguk had lent him to wear. By that time he had gotten to the wall with the lower half of his body hanging off the edge as the dog tried to pull him back in. Boukki was standing on his hind legs, tugging at his pants and vigorously twisting his head from left to right in an effort to imprison him once more.
“Get off you damn mutt!” The dog was evil! It was possessed by a demon and Daehyun had to sacrifice his pants just to ge himself up upon the wall he sat on to catch his breath. 'Great. Just great' His blue boxers with white polka dots all around was there for all the world to see. He was pantless, his legs and thighs practically exposed to the elements that rained down on him. But did he care? Hells No!
“HA!” He triumphantly bellowed out as he turned to the window where a seemingly dissatisfied Yongguk stood. He didn't give two s about the end result of his pantless state because now, Daehyun not only got his USB drive back, but he also possess Yongguk’s computer as well and that could only put a big 'ol smile on the cockly man's face. Sure, he was breaking the law. What he did could earn him at least a week in juvenile detention, but something told him Yongguk wasn’t the type who sent others to solve his problems for him.
“I guess I win!” Daehyun enthusiastically announced over the barks of the mangy mutt below.
Yongguk leaned himself along side the window frame and stared at the accomplished grin that spread across Daehyun’s face. It should’ve got his blood pressure going, should’ve just made him so pissed at the world that breaking something would’ve been the only solution to calm himself down, but his entire physiognomy was devoid of emotion instead. Daehyun thought he came out victorious - that he escaped the devil’s playground unscathed. But did he forget exactly who he was dealing with?
“Guess again!” Yongguk replied loud enough for Daehyun to hear, the smile on his face slowly vanishing into thin air. “Because it’s like you said: The game is just beginning....and I don't play to lose.”
A/N: This is a very wordy chapter...not much dialogue orz x3
But anyways, It's like Yongguk always has the final word in every chapter lulz
I swear, it only happens by chance xD
Ahhh yeeee~ everyone pump up that Hurricane song and just imagine Daehyun being off key
is that even possible lulz
Ah fuq!!!...they'll be the death of me.... life ruiners I tell ya OTL /dies; buries self in grave/
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