Somewhere in a room in the basement of an abandoned house, a young black haired man sat in the corner, almost completely hidden by shadows. He sighed, burying his face in his hands. There wasn't really much else he could do in this situation. He had been shut out again. No matter how hard he tried or how much he pleaded, he was just shut out over and over. It took all his will power to hold back the tears that threatened to flow down his cheeks. He didn't cry. He hadn't cried since he was a young child. Crying was just a waste of time and eneergy; it didn't solve anything. He supposed he could have the lights when he came in, but what was the point? The darkness simply served to mask his sorrow from the world, something he would have done himself anyway. Quite suddenly, a door to the left of the room opened, startling him out of his thoughts. A man dressed in dark skinny jeans and a black T-shirt entered the room. The newcomer spotted the upset boy almost instantly and went over to join him, resting a comforting arm on his shoulder.

  "Why are you so upset, Himchan-hyung?" the newcomer asked softly.

  "I'm not upset," Himchan snapped, pushing the other's hand away. The response, both verbal and physical, was automatic, and he regretted it almost immediately, though he would never admit it. The newcomer's eyes narrowed, but he rested his hand on Himchan's shoulder again, undaunted by Himchan's response.

  "I've known you for way too long to buy that, hyung. I can tell when something's bothering you, and this is the most upset I've seen you since the first day I came here. What happened?"

  Himchan glanced over at his friend and sighed again, nestling into the younger's chest. "Oh Jin..." he whispered. "Why can't he just let me in? He already knows that I'm not going to hurt him. Why does he keep shutting me out like this?"

  "Who? Yongguk-hyung?" Jin asked as he ran his fingers through Himchan's ebony hair, gently touching his lips to the soft locks.

  "Yeah... Why does he do this? Oh, nevermind," Himchan added, shaking his head. "I'll be alright. It's not like this is the first time that Yongguk has shut me out like this, after all."

  "If I can aske, hyung... Why does the fact that he shut you out bother you so much? Especially if thisisn't the first time that he's done something like this to you." Jin's voice was soft, and he rested his cheek on Himchan's hair as he spoke. Himchan sighed softly and wrapped his arms aroung his friend's waist, breathing in his slightly sweet scent. It wasn't often that he got to be with Jin like this. They were best friends, almost brothers, but when they were around the other gang members they had to keep their guards up, meaning that there was little to no display of any emotion that could be used as an edge to hurt one of them. As he took in the peaceful moment, Himchan contemplated Jin's question. Why was he so upset by this? Was it really still just friendship or had it become more than that somewhere along the line?

  "I donno, Jin. I guess it's just because I still remember the Yongguk that saved me that night..." Himchan sighed (he seemed to be doing that a lot recently) and shifted so that he was in a more comfortable position. "I'll get over it. Try no to worry about me so much, okay?"

  Jin's only response was a sigh as he hugged Himchan tightly, gently enfolding the elder in his protective embrace. They stayed way for several minutes, not moving until their phones went off, signalling that it was time to pus aside emotions like this and once more become the fearless leaders of their gang. It was almost as if they had been replaced with completely different people. Walking close - but not quite touching - they ascended the stairs to the main floor of the house where the rest of the gang waited for them. Jungkook and Namjoon, two of the rookies, stood on either side of the door. Yongguk, the leader of the gang, stood at the opposite side of the room from them, watching them closely Jin watched Himchan out of the corner of his eye but the black haired man showed no reaction to their leader's presence or gaze, all traces of sorrow gone from his features. Noticing the pair enter the room, two of the newer members scrambled off the couch they had been sitting on. Jin grinned and strode to the couch, amused by the younger member's fearful gazes. Himchan allowed himself to be more gentle than Jin was, greeting a few of the rookies quietly as he passed them.

  "If you two are finished," Yongguk said deprecatingly. "Yunho's gang has invaded our territory again. We can't ignore this any longer. We must strike back. So we'll strike at their weakest point: Jaehwa."

  Himchan looked up at Yongguk in shock. "Are you seriously considering this, Yongguk? You can't-"

  "Enough, Himchan," Yongguk snapped in irritation. "I expected better from you. This behavior is unacceptable."

  Himchan opened his mouth to say something, but Jin subtly rested a cautioning hand on his knee. Himchan bit back his heated response though he did glare at the leader angrily for the remainder of the meeting. The mere thought that Yongguk intended  to do something to  Jaehwa, an innocent child, pissed him off more than he could describe. Yongguk caught his eye, completely cunconcerned by the man's glare.

  "We will discuss this later, Himchan. For now, it would do you well to not question my decisions. I am still the leader of this gang. Now," he added, turning his attention away from the pissed off Himchan. "There are certain rookies who I feel should be made full members of the gang. Suga, J-hope, Namjoon, Jimin, V, Bambam, and Jungkook. Get your butts up here."

  The seven boys strode forward calmly until they stood directly in front of Yongguk. With strong, steady voices, they each spoke the vows of loyalty to both Yongguk and the gang itself. Himchan watches Jungkook and Bambam closely. The two were only fifteen, making them the two youngest rookies to become full members of the gang except for Himchan himself, who became a full member when he was thirteen. They were good enough, certainly, but the ebony haired man was worried about them anyway. Being full members of the gang meant going on raids which meant there would be a lot of fighting, a lot of blood, and a lot of death. He just hoped Yongguk knew what he was up to, bringing these two (mostly) innocent kids into situations like that. Eyes shining with pride, the seven boys claimed their silver medallions from their leader. Yongguk turned without another word and strode back towards the stairs, motioning fom Himchan to follow him. The two ascended the stairs in a heavy, oppressive, almost suffocating silence, each step they took bringing them closer to Yongguk's office. Himchan was still fuming, and he doubted Yongguk was too happy that he had spoken out against him. Despite his anger, Himchan trailed behing Yongguk obidiently, not daring to challenge his athority again. As soon as the door to Yongguk's office clicked shut, however, both of their demeaners changed instantaneously.

  "What the ing hell, Yongguk?" Himchan spat out furiously. "Jaehwa is just a child! She's only seven! Weak point or not, there's no need to drag her into this! I understand that we have to retalliate, but if you want to use Jaehwa as the means for doing that, you'll just have to do it without me!"

  "Himchan, I know you're upset, but can we please just talk about this? I promise I'll explain all of this to you, but I need you to calm down first," Yongguk almost begged, reaching out to grab Himchan's wrist.

  "Explain? What is there to explain, Yongguk?" Himchan demanded, pushing him away. "Tell me this, though. Do you plan to kill her or are you just going to hold her prisoner until Yunho submits to you? Or do you intend to just keep her as your own personal slave girl? Is that what you're going to do?"

  "Himchan..." Yongguk breathed out his name quietly, his hot breath tickling Himchan's ear as he leaned forward, resting his hands on Himchan's shoulders and effectively pinning him against the wall. Himchan shuddered at the soft touch, closing his eyes against the sensation of hot breath on his cold skin and the joy that shot through his body at Yongguk's gentle touch.

  "Himchan please... You know I wouldn't do something like that. Please, Himchan... Please let me explain this to you, Himchan. Please."

  "You'd better have one hell of an explanation, Bang Yongguk, because I've never been so angry at anyone in my life before now," Himchan snapped, pushing Yongguk away, almost at the loss of the feather-light touch and opening his eyes.

  Yongguk sighed and bowed his head briefly, taking a deep breath before looking up at Himchan. What Himchan saw when their gazes locked again shocked him to the core. His eyes were, for the first time in the ten years the latter had known him, completely unguarded as he began to speak. For the frist time in ten years, the masks and walls were allowed to crumble into dust. For the first time in ten years, Himchan wasn't shut out.

A/N

So.... crappy chapter is crappy XD Thanks so much to all you guys who subscribed to this. I'll probably update this on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.

Remember: comments make me write more ♥

To make up for crappiness of chapter, here are some pictures of out lovely Himchan: