nine
A Worth Obsessing Over
Breaking News!
Whip out your tissues ladies because the basketball star of the century, the school's precious power forward and every girl’s ideal guy is a ‘topper’, a ‘bottom-feeder’…a seme.
Bang Yongguk is gay!
As unexpected as it was, Yongguk was interested in the same and Youngjae sat there with a look that was teetering along the lines of disbelief and shock. “You want Daehyun to fall for you?” Youngjae questioned apprehensively. “As in you want to watch him fall in a ditch somewhere and die by your hands?” That had to be it! Because the only way Daehyun was falling for Yongguk would be if, and only if, death itself brought him to his hands and knees.
“No,” Yongguk directed his attention back on the road. “Not like that at all.”
“Then like what?”
“It’s just as it sounds.”
He was being difficult. Youngjae knew a thing or two about using words to mask your true intentions and Bang Yongguk was doing just that. “It’s not just as it sounds at all. So you’re telling me you love Daehyun, is that it?”
“Use your imagination.”
But he didn’t want to use his ‘imagination’. “You’re messing with me.”
“I thought you were impervious to such ’mind games’.”
“So it’s a mind game then? You’re playing around?”
“Does it worry you?”
“Why would it worry me?”
“You’re being challenged and the tone of your voice suggest that you’re quite concern about the whole thing.”
“I don’t need to worry about anything.” Youngjae stated with a confidence not even Yongguk could destroy. “Daehyun would never fall for you because he’s not gay.”
“You sure about that?” The question came with a suggestive smile Youngjae was quick to take notice of.
He was staring at him now, wondering exactly what it was that made him think as if he knew a man he‘d only met a few days ago. “Of course I’m sure.”
“Like you were sure he only spoke Korean?” Now that was different. It was true Youngjae didn’t know anything about Daehyun’s proficiency in the French Language, but it wasn’t like the topic ever came up.
“That doesn’t matter…it’s only a language.”
“And how about his scar?”
The mention of a previous injury curled his fingers into tight fists that rested tensely upon his lap. He didn‘t know what to say. Youngjae didn‘t know whether to toss his pacifistic way of thinking out the window and punch Yongguk in the face right now, or restrain himself. “you mean the injury he got on his hand when he was at your house? The one you inflicted on him?”
“Is that what he told you?” The light trill of amusement was ticking the teen off. Yongguk could see that in the fist that slightly trembled. “If he did, than it was a lie… and besides, I’m not talking about that.”
Then what could it be? From what he saw of Daehyun‘s body, and Youngjae saw a whole lot on school trips to the hot springs ( ness allowed), there was not a scratch on him. Skin was left unmarred, aside from the little imperfections here and there, but other than that, Daehyun didn’t have a prominent scar that would indicate a past he wasn’t aware of. He knew Daehyun and he knew his past, that was what their friendship was built off of: full disclosure.
“You two tell each other everything, right?”
Youngjae was slightly startled at the inquiry. It was like he was reading his mind and it was freaking him out. “What’s it to you?”
“I’m just saying I know him more than you can ever imagine, which is why I know he’s going to fall for me sooner or later.”
Youngjae scoffed at the statement Yongguk tried to pass on as nothing but a fact. “And you’re basing that off of a scar?”
“A scar you know nothing about.”
“And where is this scar exactly?” Oh how he wanted to expose Yongguk’s own scars - to simply question everything he saw on the photos that started this whole thing. But he knew better than to open a can of worms without preparing himself for the repercussions that might come about.
Before he knew it, Yongguk pulled along side a shop and all he could see right out his window was a hill where people, vendors and lights flooded the narrow passage that awaited them. He stepped out, Yongguk doing same. They stood along side each other as they looked upon the area where outcasts, the socially unacceptable and the hostile resided. To many who braved venturing through the ’ghetto’ of South Korea, it was a place not suitable for children, especially high school students who really didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
“The scar…” Yongguk smiled. “The scar is located where you least expect it.”
“I care about him.”
Was Himchan actually talking to him, or was that all his imagination? The silence they subjected themselves to was stretched out for so long that Daehyun thought he was hearing things until Himchan spoke again.
“I really do care about him. He’s not just a piece of to me. He’s more than that.”
Daehyun rolled his eyes, sinking back into his chair as he stared out at the scenic blur of the city. “All I have to say is that action speak louder than words.”
“You just told me I had to say something…what the hell do you want me to do? Do something to show him how much I care or say something…Jesus Christ.”
He was a lost cause. Kim ing Himchan was too stupid to realize that all he needed to do was be there for him and stand along side the man who will forever have his back no matter what. “It’s not for me to say. I can’t tell you what to do. He’s your boyfriend. Accept that title and you’ll know exactly what’s expected of you.” As soon as Himchan stopped the car, Daehyun rushed out and slammed the door behind him.
He was more pissed off than usual, so much more angry at the world for no good reason at all that he had to take a moment and calm himself down before tackling the night’s challenge head on.
“Hyung?” Daehyun looked up to see Junhong and Jongup making his way towards him. They were alert, their heads twisting about in all directions to observe a whole other side of Korea they had yet to see. “You got Itaewon too?” Junhong questioned the obvious, the blond sounding unsure of not only Daehyun’s objective, but his own as well.
“Yeah, Youngjae should be somewhere around here too.”
“Oh, okay….erm…what are we supposed to do here?” Be it math, English, or science, Daehyun knew to always expect Junhong to be lost with whatever he did, and for him to have Jongup as a partner didn’t help the duo in the least bit.
“I’m not sure…hold on, let me get into contact with Youngjae.” He adjusted his earpiece and looked through the list of names on the phone until his friend’s name came to view. It only took one ring for Youngjae to answer and for all their phones to sync with one another as if it was designed to allow everyone in their little circle to listen in on their conversation.
“Hello?” Youngjae answered.
“Where are you?”
“Um…by a hill of some sort.”
“A hill?”
“Yeah…um….there’s food stands, what looks like stores…a lot of graffiti walls and -” A ring cut the description of his whereabouts off short and everyone was quick to pull out their phones and read the messages that were left for them.
Being the restless person that he was, Daehyun started to aimlessly walk through the throng of people of differing nationalities, ualities and genders that ranged from the usual men and women, with the added transgender on the side. Junhong was asking questions, Jongup being the utter fail that he was with his usual reply of ‘I don’t know’ as Himchan came swooping in to help them. It was only when Daehyun found both Yongguk and Youngjae did he look down at the message that decided how their night was going to go:
❝ MSG: GROUP ANYONE?
How fun...people are droping out like flies
and all I have to say is good riddance.
This is what the challenge is and this is
what the game hopes to achieve:
NO SURVIVORS!
KIDS JUST GTFO!
We're here to party!
So let's have some fun, shall we?
It seems groups are your weaknesses
so we're going to stir things up a bit.
Synchronization started...
Synchronization completed..
Daehyun
Himchan
Jongup
Junhong
Yongguk
Youngjae
- Connnected -
Maps were given out, directions and coordinates at the palm of their hands as three general areas were highlighted for their choosing. Each and every one of these areas had five objectives that were expected to be completed in order to win the game and the prizes that came with it. There were side missions that were up for grabs in case anyone wanted the small rewards that consisted of Ipods, gift certificates, concert tickets and the works. They were harder, much more difficult and the things that were expected of them to do almost seemed as impossible as the last two objectives that really challenged one’s bravery and perseverance. Daehyun didn’t pay attention to the small stuff because it was the prize money he was gunning for.
“We need to stay paired up to finish everything that’s on here.”
Youngjae nodded in agreement. “Daehyun’s right, we won’t be able to finish this all if we do it alone.”
Junhong tilted his head off to the side. “So we’re staying in the same pairs?”
“Hells no!” Daehyun and Himchan shouted in unison.
By the way Junhong and Jongup stood so closely beside one another, it was a dead given they were more than okay with the arrangement that was initially set up for them. They were going to stay as a pair, but as for the four who waited for someone to suggest the obvious, it appeared the switch in partners was going to be a rather difficult one.
However, to everyone’s surprise, especially Youngjae, Himchan was the one who broke the four-way staring contest as he took Youngjae gently by the wrist and pulled him by his side. “I’ll go with Youngjae.”
But wait a minute! If Himchan finally found his balls and was claiming Youngjae as his partner, then who was Daehyun going to pair up with?
“I guess that leaves you and me.” He wanted to die. Yongguk was now standing by him and it felt like he could die at any minute now. But before anyone could protest to the new arrangement, Jongup held out his phone in the middle of the circle for them to see.
“Which one are we going to?” He simple asked whilst adjusting his glasses.
No one really knew what the addresses entailed and where streets led off to. They hadn’t been to that part of town before, which made choose where to go a matter of letting an index finger decide their fate. Daehyun pointed to one place, Youngjae did the same before Junhong followed suit and, with a short pep talk from Himchan, it was about time for the pairs to go off on their separate ways with one thought in mind: Win this game and try to have fun doing it.
“I didn’t want to pair up with you.” It was the first thing Daehyun said as they made their way up the dirt hill that led to their desired destination.
“To bad. You’re stuck with me. So it up and shut up.”
“You’re such an .” He didn’t want to deal with him anymore. The two couldn’t go 5 seconds without insulting each other and seeing as the volley of retorts were getting them nowhere, Daehyun decided to check in on everyone with a simple push of a button.
“You guys can hear me?” The technology they were given was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Appearance wise, the phone was like any other Iphone on the market, but the applications, the GPS tracking device, the map, the way everyone had the choice to interact with one another and pinpoint their location reminded him of those Spy movies Youngjae refused to watch with him. The earpieces were small and discreet, their fake ID appearing as legit as legit could get, and all Daehyun could think about was the cash that had to be invested for a game everyone wanted to win.
“We’re here.” Jongup and Junhong answered with an expressive sound of confusion in their voice.
“Where are you two?” Daehyun listened to the silence that preceded their words of uncertainty.
“Um…” After a minute or two of silence, Youngjae finally chimed in with his own bulk of discomfort that made it difficult to describe their own whereabouts. “Daehyun…I think we should’ve switched places.”
“What do you mean?”
“We asked the people where we were and they said locals call the place ‘Hooker Hill.’”
“Hooker hill?”
“Yeah…es…they’re establishments…are like…um…they’re like strip joints for ion.”
An air of silence washed over them, an eyebrow twitching in disbelief as a look of wonder and bewilderment involuntarily caught Daehyun and Yongguk in a stare that made it hard to guess what waited for them at the end of the road. The narrow passageway they struggled to push their way through was starting to become congested with bodies that moved with the groove of the beat. Some were drunk and a lot were mesmerized by the music that blasted from the clubs lined along side the dirt street.
It was party central and Daehyun and Yongguk was stuck in the middle of it all.
“I think we know where we are now.” Jongup announced.
“Where are you?”
“Um…the rich red-light district of Itaewon…that’s what the muscular guy said whose trying to show Junhong something in a room.”
“What?!” Himchan hollered through the phone, causing everyone to wince by the high-pitch volume of his voice. “A guy is trying to show Junhong something in a room!? IN THE RED-LIGHT DISTRICT!!”
“Rich.” Jongup corrected over Himchan’s panic state. “It’s the Rich Red-Light district.”
“I don’t care what kind of red-light district it is. Don’t you know what a red-light district is?!”
Jongup grew silent before saying, “A place with a lot of red lights?”
“No ! It’s not only that though. That place…it’s just….” The five objectives hadn’t been fully revealed yet and already they were in the most ed up position in their lives. Youngjae was worrying up a storm, Himchan was stressing out, Yongguk was relatively calm despite everything he was hearing, and Daehyun was just trying to guess what was in stored for himself, while Jongup embodied a lost puppy.
They were screwed.
“Wait a minute.” Daehyun said amidst the whirlwind of vexation. “Why did you say we should’ve switch places? Why would it be better if I went to hooker hill? What are you trying to say Youngjae?”
“Oh my god.” The younger groaned. “Are you really concentrating on that right now?”
“Yeah. I want to know why I’d be better off at Hooker Hill.”
“We are not talking about that right now!” Himchan made it his right to cut into the conversation before focusing on Jongup again. “Jongup.”
“Yes?”
“We are switching places. You and Junhong are going to take Hooker Hill and Youngjae and I-”
“Why switch? It’ll just waste time.” And to Daehyun, time was of the essence if they were planning on winning. “Hooker Hill and the Red-Light district are pretty much the same thing.”
“No it’s not,” Youngjae butted in. “The Red-Light district is more…shady, especially with the rich.” They were arguing, everyone shouting out their two-cents on a situation that was already escalating out of control.
“You guys.” Jongup was trying to get their attention, but his usual soft-spoken nature made it hard to express himself in the whispers that failed to reach their ear. “Hyungs? Um…Guys?” The flurry of retorts and the nagging that drowned out every single thing around them made talking over the four close to impossible.
“Yo!” But with someone as demanding as Yongguk, it was no more than a walk in the park to silence the yapping mutts who finally shut their traps. “Why don’t you all shut up?! He’s trying to say something.”
“T-Thank you hyung.” He began to speak once more but found himself running instead. Footsteps could be heard trekking upon the dirt floor in a hastened pace. There was a pause, everyone was holding their breath and Jongup seemed to be in his own little world of anxiety as each intake of air grew sharper and shorter by the second. “He‘s gone.”
“What?!” Everyone, which obviously excluded the heartless demon of the underworld, simultaneously yelled in a panic that made them all stop what they were doing.
“Junhong and that guy is gone.”
The calmer one out of the five took out his phone and started dialing Junhong’s number. He answered on the second ring, the sound of his voice calming the others down almost immediately. “Hello?”
“Junhong, where the hell are you?!”
“Um…with this guy. He offered to help me with the game. I -” A low mumble, sounding light and overtly-joyous in all the wrong ways, steered Junhong’s train of thought elsewhere. He was ignoring Himchan’s bout of concern that sounded like a mother on crack. The predicament they were in was so out of hand, Himchan nearly lost his when the Freshmen said his goodbyes. “I’m here already…I gotta’ go.”
“Oh my god!” He lost his baby chick. Kim Himchan, the man who might as well have personified a mother hen, lost the baby of the group and now he was going off, yelling in their ear and telling everyone this wasn’t worth the cash that had brought them their to begin with. “Jongup! What was your objective?!”
“Huh?”
“The objective! Look on your phone and see what you were supposed to do.”
“Um…hold on.” He may have dressed as a dork, but glasses and y suspenders didn’t make him anywhere near as proficient with technology as nerds were known to be. “Um…the message title says….Purchases at a brothel.”
“Brothel?!”
“Himchan shut the hell up! Stop yelling in our ing ears!” Someone needed to take control of the situation and seeing as Daehyun thought he was more than qualified to do so, he took the initiative to do just that. “Jongup you know what a Brothel is, right?”
“Um…Where you buy soup?” If the situation wasn’t as serious as Himchan made it out to be, Daehyun would’ve laughed his off at his reply.
“No, it’s not. But it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?!”
“Himchan shut up.”
“ you Daehyun. I‘m not going to-” Since it was Daehyun who started the call, he decided to hang up on the irritant as he kept the others on the line.
“Okay, as I was saying.” He cleared his throat. “Jongup, find Junhong…follow the instructions on your phone and if you don’t get lost, you’ll be able to get back on track.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea Daehyun. It’s a 15-year-old in a Brothel…I don’t think-” Just as he did with Himchan, Daehyun rudely cut Youngjae out of their conversation before giving the sophomore a few words of encouragement.
“Try and get your objectives done and check back with me if you run into trouble…not Himchan or Youngjae, alright?”
“Okay.” There was a hint of fear clinging to the single syllable that hesitantly escaped him. They knew nothing of their surroundings, the people around them were strange and the game they were playing didn’t feel like a game at all. So it was understandable that there’d be that feeling of doubt that would make any person run with their tails between their legs.
“You can do it Jongup. Hwaiting!” Daehyun hung up and prayed to god they wouldn’t quit too soon into the game.
He needed this. They all needed this. With school being as mundane as the daily routines they were following to a tee, Daehyun thought they needed to break away from the norm and experience a more dangerous side to a life that was worth sharing to his future children and his children’s children until the day he died.
“You are really taking this seriously.”
Daehyun didn’t bother looking at Yongguk. He could already hear the amusement in his voice, which only meant he was smirking that irritating smirk he couldn’t bare to see. “Unlike you, I need the money.”
“Which means you’d do anything to get it?”
“Of course.” Well, maybe not ’anything’. Daehyun wasn’t that desperate for money. If he was, he’d probably be in one of the shop windows at Hooker Hill.
“So it probably is going to be such a challenge for you to be faithful to your crush.”
What was Yongguk getting at anyways? Nothing he said was making sense. What did being faithful and his supposed ‘crush’ had anything to do with money? Daehyun was pulled out of his thoughts by an arm that affectionately s its way around his waist, the unexpected hold on him pulling Daehyun closer to the man that held him way too closely to his side.
“What are you doing?” Daehyun didn’t bother the attempt in stepping out of his grasp - it would’ve just been a waste of time and energy. By the way Yongguk easily slammed him into the glass door back at the café, Daehyun knew better than to fight a battle he couldn’t win. “Are you high?”
“Not at all.”
Yongguk was acting weird. If he wasn’t high than he must’ve downed a bottle of vodka on the drive there to even think he could hold him without experiencing the repercussions that was seconds away from blowing up in his face. “What’s with you?” Daehyun grabbed at the front of Yongguk’s shirt, and in spite of the violence a fist full of his wardrobe entailed, there was a smile on the other’s face, his eyes directed at a couple who was apparently staring at them.
“You two look absolutely adorbs together.” It took Daehyun a while to register what the male had said to them. They were approaching with all smiles as their vibrant choice in wardrobe practically distracted Daehyun from pummeling Yongguk to a pulp.
“Why, thank you.” What the hell was Yongguk thanking them for? And why was he smiling that gummy smile that made Daehyun want to punch him in the face? “My boyfriend’s a bit on the moody side though.”
‘Moody side? Boyfriend? What the ?!’ Daehyun squirmed in the arm that tightened around his waist, tremors of pure dread soon traveling down his arm as Yongguk took a hold of the hand that dug into his collar. It was gentle, very permissive and intimate in a way that freaked Daehyun the hell out. He smiled at him, the two males before them matching his carefree grin.
“Boy, this is not a night to stay mad.” The masculine one of the two stated.
“Whatever the problem is hun, you gotta leave it at home and have the time of your life while you‘re here.”
He didn’t know what to do, didn’t really know how to form the words to convey just how confused he felt. But it wasn’t like Daehyun would have the time to recover from the initial shock of everything that was happening because Yongguk was already opening his mouth to speak once again. “I’ll be sure he has an unforgettable night. But can you tell me where I can find Pulse?”
Daehyun didn’t know what Yongguk was saying or how the others were replying to him. All he could focus on was the thumb that gently kneaded into his palm. It was disturbingly comforting, very warm compared to the night air and it brought about a sensation he hadn’t felt for a long while. He didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing, but he knew he couldn’t bring himself to like it one bit.
“Let’s go babe.” Yongguk had to stop using those names to address him because it was really building up the bile at the back of his throat. As strange as it sounds, Daehyun was missing the that was the Bang Yongguk who locked him up in his guest room. He started leading Daehyun by the hand and making his way through the sea of people that were really having the time of their life.
“Yongguk.” Tugging his hand out of Yongguk's grasp went in vain. He couldn’t budge out of his hold and that only shook him out of his daze. “Yah! Where the hell are we going? Where are we? Yah! Yongguk!” Without warning, Yongguk made a complete stop which lcaused Daehyun to bump into the man who was saying something he couldn’t hear. The music was playing from nearby clubs and people were laughing, talking and merrily screaming to catch others attention. He couldn’t make out a word that was said and upon realizing this, Yongguk turned around to face him.
A hand reached passed him, the hairs at the back of Daehyun's neck standing on end when fingers gripped at the silken tresses there. It kept him in place, preventing Daehyun from rejecting the lips that came close to his ear. “We’re in a place you should feel more than comfortable in expressing who you really are.” There was always a spark of electricity that generated between them whenever they were mere inches away from each other. It was no more than a deadly bolt of lightening that had all the power to destroy them, but now a strange shiver ran down his spine and left an odd sensation at the small of his back where Yongguk’s fingers ominously lingered. “We’re in a place where hiding from your true self is not allowed.” Just as fingers kneaded into the palms of his hand minutes ago, nails dug down at his spine, tenderly clawing into his jacket as one yank of his hips pressed Daehyun against the older’s own.
He felt him and heard each breath that he took as lips drew near. Daehyun had to hold onto Yongguk’s sleeve just to keep himself standing, the close proximity between them just making it that much more harder for him to choose between knocking Yongguk out now and risk breaking some kind of unspoken rule of the town, or enduring whatever it was that was unfolding at a speed Daehyun couldn’t keep up with.
Yongguk was breathing down his neck, his next words lingering at the tip of his tongue. The skillful digits that were tangled in his hair started moving now, sluggishly making its way along the thick stalk of his neck as they curved out to his shoulders and ran down his arm. The rise and fall of Daehyun’s chest was becoming sporadic as it lost all sense of calm and the collectiveness that was once instilled within a man who always knew what to do in any give situation. But he was now staring into Yongguk’s eyes, the gap between them nearly nonexistent as he felt the unnerving warmth of his breath as he said four distinct words that made the game all the more surreal:
“Welcome to Homo Hill.”
A/N:
Okay, I noticed I"m really slow in moving things along, especially with this chapter
So I promise you all I'm going to try to speed things up with events and how I write them
I really don't want to bore you or anything ;n; So I'll try my best to change the way I
tend to stretch certain scenes out OTL cus I feel like I'm just elongating scenes that can be shortened TAT
But I hope y'all enjoyed this nevertheless x3
And fyi, those are legit places if you guys don't know already
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