Part Thirty: Hoya
The Words Unsaid
Part Thirty
Hoya
Happy Birthday Dance Machine!!
Reminder:
Hoya lied about his real name and he is going by Minwoo.
One step forward and show no mercy after all he is doing the same for me. Sweat was falling down my face even dripping into my eyelids making it hard to see. His red wrapped fist flew through the air causing me to leap to the side.
We were both tired but I couldn’t give up not when so much rested on my shoulders. He came at me once again with his eyes full of rage. I stepped back falling into the cold metal fence. I felt the impact of his fist against my side as I let out a low moan.
No!
I grabbed ahold of his waist and we went tumbling to the mat. His hard body was lying on top of me squashing my lungs. I could hear the people scream as I tried to execute some new moves I learned a couple days ago. But he was too large and I couldn’t get my arm around.
“GET UP!” Matt screamed from the side of the cage.
The man lost his balance for a slight second trying to sit up which let me reverse the position. The man looked up at me shocked as if he couldn’t understand how he got down there. Then like always my anger got the best of me as the fist started to fly.
SLAM.
Right in his left eye.
That’s for my father being a .
SLAM.
That is for the people who called me a failure.
SLAM.
That one is for Sungjong.
SLAM.
Because I hate you for leaving us.
Sl-
A hand grabbed a hold of my arm tearing me away from the bleeding man that lay limp on the ground.
“YOU WON!” Matt shouted slapping my side happily.
“I won,” I said in a daze still trying to regain my thoughts.
“Good job hyung!” Joonshu patted my shoulder smiling.
I ruffled his hair as he held on to my arm tightly. Joonshu reminded me of my little brother maybe that was the reason why I took such a liking to him.
“Come on Hyung lets go get food,” he said taking my hand leading me to the locker room.
Once inside we were met by cheering of the other members who had already fought and won their matches. The ones who lost were nowhere in sight reminding us what was at stake each time we stepped in the ring.
“I told you the boost would work,” Matt said patting my shoulder.
I smiled at him and took a seat on a bench and started to undress the cloth wrapped around my wrists.
I was lying.
I never took the boost. I wanted to be a part of this family but I couldn't do that. Even the thoughts of taking a drug made my body shake.
So when the rest of the members were injecting themselves I would make an excuse to go to the bathroom. There was times where I emptied the contents of the vial and stabbed myself with the needle to make my lies believable. As long as I kept on winning then no one would question me. I just need a little more time to figure out what to do with my life.
I would just have to stay here a little bit longer.
♦♦♦♦♦
The loft itself was not a loft or like the Cave where we practiced. This was kind of like our homebase if you could call it a home. It was located inside of an old church that had been updated to include a couple of running bathrooms, rooms, and even a small weight room. On the first floor of the church was a large kitchen with the newest equipment and metal tables. There was always food so none of us went hungry. On the same floor was a large living room where most of the members hanged out. It even contained a small arcade but most of the machines were broken from angry fighters losing. In the corner of the room was a staircase that led to the members rooms. The type of room you were given all depended on how faithful you were to the family and how many fights you won. Those who were favored by Matt were given the best rooms and those who weren’t or who were new. Well they were forced to share one room. Right now I was crammed into one tiny room with sixteen people. It had reminded me of years back before infinite had debut when we were all squished into one room.
No don’t think about that.
The family was rough and hard and those who didn’t win enough or didn’t want to fight were kicked out. Except I was an exception to that rule and many of the other fighters had started to hate me because I had become the new golden boy.
“Hyung look at him!” Joonshu laughed as he threw himself down next to me on the sofa.
My eyes looked up to see that some of the fighters were trying to have a dance battle if you could even call it dancing.
A fighter name Chunghee was now trying to dance what I assumed to be R&B but he just looked like a stick moving in the wind. His two lackeys Jaehawn and Myungok were cheering him on and smacking anyone who wasn’t. It wasn’t surprising to see them doing these types of things. Chunghee was best friend with Matt which meant no one went against him. He was mean and actually enjoyed hurting people. There were even rumors that he once killed a dog for fun. Next was Jaehawn who had been hit so many times that I swore his brain had stopped working. He was like an overly large ape that only knew how to hit people. Finding out that Myungok was involved with Chunghee and Jaehawn had shocked me to no end. He was smart and there was rumors saying that he studied at Korean University. He was a good fighter too using his smarts to beat his opponents. But he liked being in charge and with Chunghee he could do just that.
Usually I didn’t have a problem with these three but since Matt had let me stay with the family after losing an important match. They had been making my life a living hell. It also didn’t help that Matt was letting me have more rest time in between matches then the rest of the fighters. I also wasn’t allowed to do any daily chores around the house so I could practice some more.
Ah yes they really did have a reason to hate me.
The song ended with Chunghee falling to the floor breathing in heavily as he struck a silly pose. The fighters cheered as Jaehwan ran over to Chunghee to help him off the floor.
“Who wants to go against me!?” Chunghee asked as soon as he was on his feet.
The members looked around the room as if they found something else that was far too interesting.
“Chickens,” Jaehawn barked out at the fighters.
“What about you,” Chunghee pointed in my direction.
“Me?” Joonshu sputtered out with wide eyes.
“Not you, idiot,” Chunghee snapped. “Minwoo what do you say?”
“No,” I said firmly. I hadn’t danced since the day I was taken in by Matt and I had no intention of it either.
“Chicken,” Jaehawn shouted in my direction.
“Then why don’t Joonsu dance for us,” Myungok stated with an evil grin. “We’ll even make it fun. Let’s say if Joonshu win which you won’t but if you do you will have do our laundry for a week. If you lose which you will, you have to be our slave for a month.”
Chunghee nodded his head in agreement as Jaehawn laugh loudly.
“Thats not fair,” Joonsu piped up but stopped when he saw the way Chunghee was looking at him.
“I’ll dance,” I said surprising myself and the three fighters. “But if I win which I will you have to leave me and Junsu alone,” I told him.
“Then what do I get?” Chunghee asked crossing his arms.
“I’ll leave the club,” I told him which caused gasps around the room.
“No hyung I can dance. I don’t mind being their slaves,” Joonsu begged standing up to grab ahold of my shoulder.
“Deal!” Chunghee shouted. “Turn on the music.”
Some type of house music started to play as Chunghee started to dance well if you could call it dancing. It looked like he was having a seizure on the floor.
“Hyung,” Joonsu looked at me guilty.
‘Don’t worry he won’t win,” I laughed.
“But-”
The music came to an end with the fighters cheers. Chunghee walked up to me and smirked then he walked back to his seat. I step forward and closed my eyes as the music started to play. It was poppy and just like my style.
“See I told you he can’t dance,” Chunghee laughed.
But then my head started to bounce to the beat then next my chest then finally my legs. It was like all my pent of anxiety and anger was being released within this dance. I closed my eyes imaging that I was back on stage with my friends. I could almost hear the fangirls cheers when all of sudden the music changed.
I snapped my eyes open to see that Chunghee was standing by the stereo with a smirk on his face.
“Not fair!” Joonsu shouted but I couldn’t help but smirk. Someone must have hated Chunghee or loved me because the song he played I knew.
I even performed it on KBS Music Festival a couple years ago with Dongwoo. Then again when I was on the set of Reply 1997. I let my body follow the familiar choreography of ‘Turn Around and Look at Me’ by Deux Sunbae’s song. It was like I could hear Dongwoo dancing next to me with a big grin. When the song ended I was met by screams then suddenly I felt someone hug me. I look down to see Joonsu.
“You won!” he said laughing.
Chunghee was glaring at me as him and his friends left the living area.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” a fellow fighter named Junhee told me. “He’s not going to let this go.”
I nodded my head because I knew I just started a war.
♦♦♦♦♦
I nodded my head as I wrapped my jacket closer to my body.
We had just gotten back from eating at a simple street tent where they served fish cake. It was cheap meal but Joonshu appreciated being treated.
The first time I saw Joonshu I thought that he was lost but I soon found out that he was a fighter. Actually he was one of the youngest fighters at 16 years old. I had thought that he should have been in school doing regular teenage things. Although after knowing Joonshu I knew that this was the best place for him. His father was abusive and his mother was a drunk causing him to run away to Busan. Looking at Joonshu you wouldn’t have known that he came from a broken home. He was always cheerful or pranking the other fighters.
“How mad do you think Chunghee is?” Joonshu asked me.
“I don’t care,” I sighed but truthfully I had been worried. It had been a couple days since the dance battle and Chunghee had been nowhere in sight. It was not like him to back down from a fight and we all knew that he was plotting something. But as for right now it was peaceful.
“Where did you learn those moves?” Joonshu asked for the tenth time today.
“I took classes when I was young,” I told him truthfully.
“But you can’t dance that good from childhood classes,” Joonshu whined.
“Joonshu,” I snapped even though I didn’t mean to be so rude.
“Hyunggg,” Joonshu whined.
“How about this you win your next fight and I will teach you some moves,” I told him seriously.
“Really?” Joonshu seemed excited. “Then I can fight Chunghee with my moves.”
He tried to make a wave with his arms but he just looked like a wet noodle causing me to laugh loudly.
Joonshu was going to say something when my phone suddenly went off.
“You go in,” I told him pointing to the door of the loft that was a couple feet away.
Joonshu nodded and walked towards the building.
I checked the number to see that I couldn’t recognize it. Did my family get a new number?
I bit my lip as I contemplated if I should pick up the phone or place it back into my pocket.
I let the curiosity get the best of me and I answered the phone.
“Hello,” I answered simply.
“Howon,” my father’s voice sent shivers down my spine.
“Bye,” I told him about to end the call.
“HOWON! YAA! YOU BRATT!” my father screamed into the phone.
“I’m not coming home,” I told him sternly.
“Who cares what you want. Your mother hasn’t been able to get out of bed because she is worried about you,” my father snapped making my heart drop.
“I’m fine out here on my own,” I retorted trying to not show how thin my voice had become.
My father took a deep breath, “Tell me where you are Howon.”
“No,” I snapped. “Now leave me alone.”
I turned off the phone letting out a loud scream of frustration.
I wanted to go home so badly but I can’t. I can’t go back when he expects me to work a desk job and become him. Why can’t he let me live my own life!
The phone rang again and I answered it quickly and placed it to my ear.
“WHAT,” I shouted maybe a little too loud.
The voice came out soft and maybe a little bit scared. “H-Hoya.”
My voice was caught in my throat as I let out a gasp. “Dongwoo?”
It had been a long time since I said that name and felt strange leaving my lips.
“Hoya is that really you?” he asked me once again.
“Yes,” I answered. “How are you doing Hyung?”
“I’m fine but Hoya I need to tell you something,” he told me making my heart drop.
Sungjong.
“Listen it might sound crazy but I need you to come to Seoul,” he told me.
“What happen?” I asked quickly.
“I think I found a way to help Sungjong,” he told me seriously.
“Wait what?”
I had expected Dongwoo to tell me that Sungjong had finally died not that he found a cure. Leave it to Dongwoo to find a way to help the maknae.
“It’s a long story but I need you here,” he told me.
“I-”
“ I have to go. Dr. Woonha I put that form over th-”
The line went dead sending me back to reality. I had to go back to Seoul now. I didn’t care about this dumb fight club anymore. Maybe Joonsu would come with me?
I have a feeling he would be more excited than angry to find out my real career. I open the door to the loft to be met with quietness. Since it was midday most of the fighters were at the cave practicing for their next match. I walked up the staircase and took a right towards the single rooms. At the end of the hallway was a black door that was Matt’s room. I had only been there once and I was still amazed by the room. It was large enough for a small living room that contained a large flat screen TV and a little space for an office. There was also a separate bathroom that made all the fighters jealous. Sharing a bathroom with a bunch of men could be well disgusting.
I knocked on the door and there was a quiet “yes” that replied.
I open the door to see that Matt was working at his desk with different pieces of paper surrounding him.
“Ah yes Minwoo,” he looked up from the papers.
I shut the door and made my way to Matt. “Listen Matt I need to tell you something.”
“What’s up?” he asked me. “Is Chunghee being mean again?”
“No that’s not it,” I told him taking a seat in the leather chair. “I want to leave.”
“What,” Matt asked shocked. “Are we not enough for you Minwoo?”
“No it’s not that and I’m really thankful to you Matt for letting me stay here but it’s time for me to get back to my family,” I admitted.
“So are we not your family,” Matt asked simply.
“No it’s not that it’s jus-”
Matt raised up a hand stopping me. “I understand Minwoo.”
Wait what? I expected Matt to put up some type of fight to make me stay.
“We don’t want people here who don’t want to be here,” Matt told me. “So you are free to leave.”
“Thank you!” I shouted standing up and bowing. “I will be gone tonight.”
I turn around and started to leave. I still need to find a way to get to Seoul and a place to stay. But I was sure that Jungryu would help me if I called him.
“Wait a moment,” Matt called for me before I reached the door. “Hoya.”
I whipped around to see that Matt was standing there with a smirk on his face. I didn’t hear him right because there is no way that he knew my name w-
“It’s Hoya right but your real name is Lee Howon?” he asked me taking a step closer to me.
.
My face was glowing red as the shakiness in my legs made it hard to stand.
“I knew who you were since the moment I saw you,” Matt confessed.
“What do you want?” I asked him taking a step backwards.
“First off you are going to stay and you are going to fight,” Matt told me.
“Bu-”
“You’re also going to take the boost and yes I knew you weren’t taking it. I’m not dumb,” he pointed out crossing his arms.
“Y-You can’t make me,” I pointed out trying to keep calm.
“Do you really want the whole world to know the man you have become?” Matt laughed. “They would be shocked to find out that their dancing machine joined an illegal fighting ring and on top of that he is taking drugs.”
“I’m not taking drugs,” I told him sternly.
“Pictures can prove wrong,” he grabbed a photo off his desk. It was me with my head down as I held on to a needle.
“You can’t get away with this,” I snapped at him.
“Yes I can,” Matt scoffed. “Face it Hoya I own you.”
Vocab:
Boost:
A made up drug kind of like steroids but instead of making you really buffed it makes you fast and strong. It’s highly illegal in South Korea.
Korea University:
One of the most prestigious schools in all of South Korea.
Turn Around and Look at Me by Deux:
Infinite H covered this song on a music show and if you would like to watch it you can click here.
Author Note:
Hello everyone!
I totally forgot that it was Hoya’s birthday yesterday so I decided to upload a new chapter today in celebration of his birthday. Also today will be a double update so look out for the next chapter. It should be up in a half hour to hour. I’m still editing it. But happy birthday to the dance machine.
-Morgan
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