//HunHan sidestory foreword posted here//

Jongdae eyed the doorknob twist with obvious amusement, and Kyungsoo’s cool façade broke into one bordering panic. “What- is that-“

“Looks like our dear Jongin is here. He’s faster than I thought.”

The one in the chair bit his lip, hoping that it wasn’t right, that Jongin was at home and that he wouldn’t come for him. His heart sunk when the door opened, finding a panting man on the other side, lip slightly busted but seemingly okay otherwise. “Jongin-"

“Oh Jongin, how lovely to see you!” Jongdae chirped, hands clasped together and a bright smile on his face, almost like Jongin had popped around for a surprise visit. 

The situation couldn’t be any more different.

“Nice for you to finally join us.”

A deep growl erupted from Jongin’s throat as he hurled himself forward and at the man standing. He swung a punch, missing when Jongdae simply stepped out the way. Jongin had forgotten, but Jongdae had always been lighter on his feet.

“So brash, Jongin. So brash. Here I am, giving you a nice welcome, and this is how you greet me?”

Jongin stood, chest heaving as he glared daggers into Jongdae. He knew he wasn’t in the state to fight right now, he needed a breather. “ you.”

“Don’t say that with your boyfriend in the room,” Jongdae looked towards Kyungsoo, raising an eyebrow. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

Jongin ignored him and turned to Kyungsoo, the red slightly clearing from his eyes just at the face, but not disappearing from Kyungsoo’s shoulder, even when he continued to blink. “Kyungsoo,” he whispered, eyes widening and guilt building at the blood seeping through his shirt. “I-“

“Don’t worry-“                                           

“I’m sorry to interrupt your little chat, but-“

 “What the do you want?” Jongin whipped his head around to Jongdae as he cut him off. “What the do you want so badly you had to do this?”

“Calm down,” Jongdae said, palms raised, slightly taken aback but more-so entertained. “You can’t tell me you didn’t see this coming, not after the calls.”

“What calls?” Kyungsoo asked, and Jongdae’s face lit up in genuine delight.

“Oh, so he really didn’t know. Our Jonginnie does listen well, it seems. Well, I guess you always did. How many people did you kill when you were here… Fifty? Seventy? I’ll have it written down somewhere.” Jongin’s fists clenched, preparing to launch himself at Jongdae, when he held up a hand. “You don’t know how many people I have surveying this room. It’s probably best for you and your boyfriend that you try not to hit me whilst we’re in here…”

Jongin did not shrink back but stayed still, scowl clear on his face as Kyungsoo looked at him in worry. “Then what the do you want?”

“So eager, Jongin,” Jongdae reached a hand out to which Jongin instantly flinched away from. Giving him a look, all Jongin could do was hold in the punch as Jongdae trailed a hand from his thigh, and then up around his back, skittering over the hem of his jacket before coming back down into his pocket.

Jongin refused to look, at Jongdae or at Kyungsoo.

“You’ve gained weight, though I guess that makes sense. Easily fixed. This attitude, however…” Jongdae tapped his nose lightly, like he was a child. “You have to work on it a bit more.”

“You? Telling me to work on my personality?”

“He has a poi-”

“Did I ask you to speak?” Jongdae roared, turning to Kyungsoo, who instantly coiled back. “Don’t speak unless asked, got it?” Jongin looked really mad now, knuckles white as he resisted the temptation to knock him out. He doubted it was, but if the place were under surveillance, he couldn’t risk his actions hurting Kyungsoo.

“Anger management never hurt anyone.”

“Just hurry up and tell me what the you want so we can go home.” Jongin had been trying as hard as possible to shuffle farther away from the centre of the room, so he could put as much distance between them and Kyungsoo as possible.

Jongdae laughed, “Isn’t it obvious? I want you, Jongin. Better yet, I want you as Kai.”

The answer was immediate. “I can’t do that.”

“Really?”

“I don’t do it anymore.”

“It doesn’t take much to pick up a knife or a gun, Jongin,” Jongdae pulled out the knife from earlier, twirling it in his fingers. “I would know.”

“I’m not doing it.”

Jongdae sighed, “Well, I didn’t want to have to do this, I mean, I called you and went to all the effort of bringing you here and you still won’t come back to me willingly.”

Kyungsoo shot Jongin a look of confusion, and he would have missed it if he hadn’t been worriedly looking at him, the discomfort clear on his face and the blood continuing to seep through his cut shirt. Before he knew it, Jongdae was beside Kyungsoo once more.

“Either you come back, or your pretty little boyfriend won’t be with you anymore.” Jongdae reached into his pocket, pulling out a sleek semi-automatic pistol, silver and gold crosses decorating the otherwise jet black surface on the bottom corner. “Seem familiar?” he cocked his head as he twirled it in his fingers, and Jongin swallowed hard, pushing his hand into his pocket but coming out blank. It was all too familiar. It was the one he’d shoved in his pocket before leaving home.

“You’ve gotten sloppy- it was like taking candy from a baby. You’re lucky I still want you alive.”

Jongin looked on in horror as Jongdae placed it to Kyungsoo’s temple and Kyungsoo’s face turned hard- blank. Unreadable, even as he spoke.

“Don’t do it, Jongin. Don’t.”

For once, Jongin ignored Kyungsoo’s voice as Jongdae did, too. He couldn’t let him take him away, he just needed time to think. Apparently though, he wouldn’t get any, as Jongdae’s voice cut into his thoughts.

“Do you recognise this room, Jongin?” he asked, voice nothing less than menacing. It was clear that he might have been playing around earlier, but now he meant business. If he couldn’t before, Kyungsoo could tell now. This was how Jongdae was so successful, so good at what he did. He was goddamn terrifying, and it was taking every inch of his self-control to not start screaming, to act nonchalant when really, he’d never been more frightened in his life. He was like the fictional supervillain that you, if you ever were one, wanted to be.

Jongin’s jaw hardened. He could tell, by the way that Kyungsoo was biting the inside of his mouth but the rest of his body was unnaturally still, that Kyungsoo wasn’t as cool as he looked. The nervous habits Jongin was familiar enough with gave him away, but he hoped for Kyungsoo’s sake that Jongdae hadn’t picked up on them.

I’m sorry.

It also hardened, because yes, he definitely remembered this room, and in such a lush building, it wasn’t hard to forget the only grey one, the four concrete walls and the blank spaces, not occupied by anything more than a chair in the centre, which Kyungsoo was sitting at. But he knew the room wasn’t really what was meant to get Jongin riled up, it was the metal rings attached to the wall on Jongdae’s right that were.

“I do,” Jongin said, trying his best to ignore the rage building up. “Why?”

His tone was cold, and Kyungsoo had no idea why Jongin was asking Jongdae to confirm the reasons. It was almost like it was a reason for Jongin to burst, to let out all the anger he’d held in since he’d left- since before he’d left.

“Glad to know I won’t have to give you a tour again,” Jongdae smiled, “Now, back to my… proposition. You say yes, come back to working for me, Kyungsoo is safe and everyone is happy. Say no, and I pull the trigger of your gun and your boyfriend ends up here, splattered on the floor, and I’m not cleaning it up. You get a minute to decide, maybe two if I’m feeling generous.”

Jongin clenched his eyes shut, breathing heavily. He needed to think, he had to find some way to get out of this, Kyungsoo no more damaged than he was currently.

“Time’s a-ticking, Jongin.”

“Jongin - you don't-"

“Three," Jongdae sang.

It hadn’t been long enough, he needed more time.

“Just s-”

“Two,"

“-ay no.”

 “One,"

Then he realized, Jongdae was never nearly finished this early.

“You won’t.”

“Really now?” Jongdae said, smile tugging at the end of his lips, gun still at Kyungsoo’s head and finger on the trigger, “What makes you say that?”

“A gun’s too fast, you want to drag this out.”

Jongdae put the gun down and in to his pocket, grinning. “Oh, you know me too well. I’ve always found guns boring,” he slipped out the knife he’d had earlier, holding it closely to his face as he observed it. “Knives are much more my style- they make deaths beautiful, you know- and talking about beautiful deaths...” Jongdae used his free hand to reach into his back pocket to pull out two white ribbons, both stained with red. “If you’re going to say no to me, I think I’d like to do a better job with this one than I did to Tao. Look, I even have the same ribbon!”

Jongin’s nostrils flared as his jaw stayed clenched shut.

Think, think!

“So, time to make your decision, loverboy. Choose wisely.”

The voice that came was not the one Jongdae expected.

“Can I- can I talk to him?” Jongin had never heard Kyungsoo look so afraid, mind, he didn’t think Kyungsoo would have ever been more scared.

The leader sighed, nodding “I shouldn’t let you, but I will. I don’t understand love, maybe this’ll be interesting,” he turned to Jongin, “Try anything, and I will kill him on the spot, with your gun. I’m not joking.”

Almost instantly, Jongin was bobbing down, face to face with his boyfriend in the chair.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, hands cupped around Kyungsoo’s face. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Jongin. It’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not, I don’t know how-“

“Let him do it,” Kyungsoo said, eyes welling up but only full of sincerity, “Let him kill me. I won’t mind, Jongin, and you’d get out of everything he wants.”

“I won’t- he’ll keep.”

“Just trust me, Jongin. It’ll be the last time he ever hurts you.”

“I can’t let him do that. I can’t let him hurt you anymore.”

“I don’t want other people to die because you wouldn’t let me go.”

“I can’t- I can’t let you die.”

Kyungsoo gave him a weak smile. “I won’t die just yet, Jongin-ah,” he whispered, to his ear, talking in a voice that only two could hear.

Jongin nodded, just slightly. “I’ll get us out of this. Somehow.”

Kyungsoo bit his lip. “I know you will.”

“Just trust me.”

Kyungsoo rose his voice, it cracking slightly. “I do- please, Jongin. Don’t miss me.”

And Jongin understood, leaning in and pressing a chaste but passionate kiss to his lips.

Just trust me. I have a plan, it’ll hurt us and it might not work, but I don’t know what else to do, is what Jongin wanted to say, but it was too risky. “I’m sorry.” he mumbled to Kyungsoo, before standing up straight.

“What?”

Jongin looked towards his old boss. “I’ll do it.”

Jongdae’s frown turned into a full blown smile, whilst Kyungsoo’s turned to confusion, honestly not the answer he was expecting to hear. “Glad to see you’re finally seeing things my way, Jongin-ah.”

“Jongin, you can’t-”

“I’ve killed a lot of people in my lifetime,” Jongin spoke up, willing away the shake in his voice. “Once a killer, always a killer, right?” he forced a smirk, “Apparently I haven’t changed.”

Just trust me.

Kyungsoo’s head was whirring, his emotions brewing up a storm inside. “After everything you’ve been through? After everything we’ve been through,” he wanted to scream, but stopped himself, “You’re just going to yourself up again?”

The words were harsh, and even though Jongin knew the underlying truth, he knew that Kyungsoo wouldn’t say that usually.

“I tried to get better, Kyungsoo, I did.”

“You did! What the are you doing?”

Jongin looked between Kyungsoo and the floor. “I missed it,” he confessed. “I didn’t want to admit it, but I’ve missed it”

Just trust me.

“You’re lying, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, on the verge of tears and not knowing what to believe anymore. “Stop lying.”

Jongdae clapped his hands together. “Well, this is exciting! It’ll be nice to have you back, Jongin.”

Jongin turned to face his boyfriend. “Will you still love me, ‘Soo?”

Just trust me.

Jongin’s head shook just slightly, small enough for Kyungsoo to pick up, but so small that it may have not been there to anyone else.

Just trust me.

“I can’t- no-”

Jongin’s face turned to one of actual betrayal, and Kyungsoo didn’t know what to believe anymore. Then it changed to indifference.“Fine. You have a day to move out.” he said, moving forward before reaching out and touching Jongdae’s shoulder with his left hand, trailing it up to lay on his neck, using his right hand to slip around and under Jongdae’s jacket. “I missed you,” he said, voice soft but lusty, “And now that there’s no Kyungsoo… Please take care of me,” he whispered, lips ghosting Jongdae’s ear, as he pushed his hips up against the other’s and pressed against the familiar sensitive spot on his neck, a soft moan escaping Jongdae’s mouth at the contact as Jongin held down and unwrapped his arm from his waist.

“Let him go.” Jongdae commanded, and Jongin complied, the other man watching as Jongin undid the binds keeping Kyungsoo’s legs to the chair, and leaning over to speak in Kyungsoo’s ear and began to untie his wrists.

“I can’t believe you,” he spat, “You absolute er.”

Kyungsoo felt his eyes welling up- this wasn’t how it was meant to go, he didn’t know how it was meant to go, and he was taken off-guard when Jongin leant into his ear and began whispering.

“Back pocket, after you stand up. I’ll signal you or he’ll be suspecting and we won’t be clear. Disengage the safety and make sure he hears the load. Reengage it.”

What?

“I thought you were meant to be different.” he said, the tiniest bit louder, before Kyungsoo felt the confines around his wrists begin to loosen and finally come undone, though Jongin held them together the tiniest bit longer with one hand as he stood up, slipping something into his back pocket just out of the view of Jongdae before pushing him forward as harshly as he could muster.

“I thought you were too,” he muttered back as angrily as he could sound, lightly brushing the object in his back pocket to confirm that it was what he thought it was as Jongin walked back to Jongdae.

“Boss, who do we kill first?” the words tasted sour on Jongin’s tongue, but he spurred them out anyway,

“You don’t really seem to like him much anymore, why not make it Kyungsoo?”

Jongin shook his head, looking Kyungsoo up and down. “No, you could make a lot of money out of that one,” he trailed his hands down Jongdae’s chest, before taking them back up and down under his shirt, going to rest them at his hip bones and scratching circles with the nail of his thumb, just the way he remembered that Jongdae liked it.

“Mmm?” he hummed, tilting his head.

He whispered right in Jongdae's ear though loud enough to Kyungsoo to make out. “Those lips are perfect for . Better than mine.”

“I don’t doubt that. You’re still a smart kid.”

Jongin smirked, fingers creeping down the waistline of Jongdae’s pants on his left side and in to the pocket of his right, hands clasping around a handle. “You werere always the one that screamed daddy.” Jongin felt Jongdae’s hand close over his own, as he begun to slowly pull the knife from his pocket, and hot breath next to his ear.

“Don’t think I don’t realize what you’re trying to do, Jongin-ah.”

Jongin’s instincts kicked in just in time to jump back, avoiding what would have been a very solid kick to his crotch and putting distance between him and his old leader at the same time.

“I know you, Jongin. I made you in to who you are today. Don’t think I didn’t figure it out.” Jongin saw a stripe of silver and Jongdae pulled out the knife, what he himself been trying to get to. “Seems you want to join Zitao, now. But don’t worry, I’ll let you have the pleasure of bleeding to death as you watch your boyfriend bleed faster.”

Jongin clenched his fists as he lurched forward in an attempt to kick Jongdae, missing by a few centimetres as he slid out the way.

“You still fight the same, Jongin.”

The comment only served to make him angrier, him letting out a loud growl as he aimed his fit at Jongdae’s face, a loud cracking sound reverberating through the empty room as it made contact. It sent Jongdae slightly staggering back and Jongin recoiled his left arm, his arm that stinging and bleeding from where Jongdae’s knife had made contact as he’d hit.

Jongdae’s chest rose in an out as he steadied himself. “I see you’ve still got a good punch.”

“I’d say the same, but anyone can hit you with a knife.” Jongin spat, charging for another hit but missing as Jongdae dodged, before leaning back and avoiding slashes across his chest, Jongdae taking the opportunity of misbalance to shove him to the floor, straddling him and leaning over to press down Jongin’s wrists with his left forearm as he held his knife to his neck with the other. Jongin struggling as much as he could without touching his neck.

“Kyungsoo!” he pushed his head as far into the floor as he could a shout ripped out his throat, like the one he was calling for wasn’t already on the way.

“Don’t scream his name when we’re in this position,” Jongdae said cheekily. “Hey, it’s just like old times!” he smirked, rolling his hips down slightly for effect. “Remember that one time where we were gonna play with blood? Now we’ll finally get to,” Jongdae paused, before a dark grin took over his face. “Except, this time it’ll be without the .”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Jongin snarled, and Jongdae heard the cocking of a gun before he felt the barrel against the back of his head.

He let out something between a laugh and a scoff, but Jongin knew he was caught off-guard, no matter what he said. “Oh! I never realized our Kyungsoo knew how to use a gun too!”

Kyungsoo’s voice was the coldest Jongin had ever heard it. “You can slit his throat, but I guarantee he’ll be easier to save than you with a bullet in your head.”

“Whatever you please, but do realize that if you do shoot, there’s a chance of your boyfriend getting injured, too.”

Kyungsoo slid the gun down to his temple. “Better?”

“You’ve been taught well.”

Kyungsoo didn’t understand how someone could be so calm when they could be milliseconds away from death, life resting on the pull of a trigger. There were a lot of things about Jongdae that he couldn’t understand though, and curiosity aside, he didn’t think he really wanted to know.Snapping out of his thoughts, he quickly grabbed the knife in Jongdae’s hand, already raised slightly higher from the distraction before throwing it across the floor meters away, and Jongin used the distraction to flip him so he was the one being straddled, right arm against Jongdae’s throat as his left continued to bleed.

“Well, I certainly missed this position.”

Jongin increased the pressure on his throat. “You piece of , you absolute piece of .”

“Oh, do go on,” Jongdae said, voice effected by the hold, but attitude clearly not. “Why do you hate me so, Jongin? What did I do?” he asked, mockingly.

“You know exactly what you did.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes. “It’s wrong for a subordinate to kill his captain, but a captain can always kill his subordinate. Get over it.”

“You don’t kill someone you’ve regarded as a brother! I’d be a hypocrite to say that I didn’t him up, either, but at least I didn’t ing kill someone who I owed so goddamn much!” the weight on his arm increased as the anger built up began to come out, months and months and months’ worth of not only hatred, but self-loathing, spilling out. “Killing him wasn’t enough for you though, was it? I had to stand there and watch you attend his funeral like you actually cared. I had to stand there and watch you give a speech about how much you missed him, how you wished he hadn’t died so young, that it had been so unfortunate, that you could have been able to do something about it. And how you had the audacity to cry when you did it, like you weren’t the one that laid the knife down?”

Jongdae’s response came slightly delayed, but it was clear it was just a lack of oxygen. “I’m a good actor, aren’t I?”

“You had to disrespect him and his family like that? Someone who was meant to be your best friend?”

“He wasn’t performing. He did the wrong thing and I did what he deserved.”

“So that makes what you did right?!”

“He owed everything to me.”

“He owed nothing to you!” Jongin yelled, face right up in the man underneath his, “He was the only one that needed neither of us!”

Jongdae made a noise which you’d assume as a scoff, “Don’t act like you’re better than me, Jongin. You’re just weaker, now.”

Jongin’s arm sunk down farther, feeling madder than he ever had before and Jongdae now almost gasping for air. “At least I stopped! I realized what I was doing was wrong and stopped!”

“Say that to the people that you-”

Kyungsoo looked on as Jongdae fought for air.

“Jongin!” As much as Jongin hated him, as much as he resented him to the very core, he knew that killing Jongdae wouldn’t do him or Kyungsoo any good in their position, and backed off slightly as Kyungsoo’s voice began to calm him down and bring him to his senses. “He’s just trying to make you mad, don’t let him win.”

Of course, because that’s what Jongdae did, and had always done, no matter what situation. Jongdae fed off the anger that came from his words more than anything else- it was something which he was admittedly skilled at getting.

Jongin raised his head slightly, arm still pushed on to Jongdae’s neck, enough to leave him gasping for air but not to suffocate him. “You deserve to die, Jongdae. More than I do, and that’s a whole ing lot.”

Jongin felt Jongdae’s throat tense as he silently scoffed. “Then why don’t you kill me?”

“Because I know better, and I know Tao wouldn’t want me to no matter what sort of you pulled. Somewhere inside of him, he actually cared about you.”

“Human emotion is such a weakness; you, and him. You’re weaker now, Jongin.”

“You don’t understand anything that doesn’t regard death,” Jongin finally released his arm and Jongdae instinctively gasped for air as he watched the other stand up. “And that makes you weaker than anyone, no matter how many people you have under you.”

“So inspirational,” the man on the floor wheezed, completely unable to move. “If only I believed it.”

Jongin ignored the comment, not because he didn’t have a response but because it wasn’t worth his time. Jongdae was far past the point of understanding. “We’re leaving,” he took Kyungsoo’s arm on the side that wasn’t injured, pulling him to the back door which wasn’t operable from the outside without authorization- the reason why fleeing and getting in was so difficult in the first place.

The last thing he heard before they escaped the building and got to the car was Jongdae’s laugh, accompanied by his voice. “I still like you, Jongin. You’re still the same.”

It was clearly ignored.

The only sound during the ride home was made by Kyungsoo, insisting on bandaging up the gash which was still pouring blood down Jongin’s arm. He didn’t fight it, face even more unreadable and continuing as he drove them home in silence. It was uncomfortable and Kyungsoo could definitely say he didn’t like it, but he got the feeling Jongin wasn’t in the mood to talk.

//Authors Note//

Only one more chapter to go!
(but there's a sidestory so it's okay c;)
Sorry about the wait, I was caught up writing other things and putting this off. Please forgive me ;;

I really don't have anything to say, except for the usual.
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