Fingerless Gloves
Tales of the Red Lion"I can't believe we're leaving already," I sighed unhappily as the bus rolled out of the hotel parking lot.
Hyunseung gave me one of the rare smiles he reserved for when we were alone. "Will you miss it?"
I grinned. "It was kinda fun. I mean, I've never gone to stuff like this in Pusan."
The night before we left, Beast broke the no-co-ed rule and invited themselves to my room, where Gaesuh, Heemin, and Jinae made us all popcorn and grabbed bags of sugary junk food.
Surprisingly, I suddenly noticed the three girls were no longer giggling and spazzing and swooning from being so close to Beast. I guess when Beast started to include them in our antics, they got used to it and realized Beast weren't the y, gangster gods everyone made them out to be.
From there, we watched stupid thrillers and cheesy chick flicks on the crappy TV, laughing and making fun of the terrible plot or graphics. I was snuggled comfortably up next to Hyunseung on the bed (gaining a bunch of annoying and erted jokes from Doojoon and Kikwang). I could have sworn I saw Yoseob sharing a pack of sour gummy worms with Jinae. Guess the two animal-lovers got closer when I wasn't paying attention.
Finally, at about one in the morning, people started complaining about our noise level, and I decided to kick Beast out. It was, in all honesty, the most fun I've ever had.
Hyunseung gently took my hand. As usual, the simplest of gestures made my cheeks burn. "We've never done this kind of stuff either. We always skipped, remember? In a way, we have to thank you. If you never came along, we wouldn't have experienced this."
I ducked my head, scowling in embarrassment. "I didn't do anything."
"You did," he said softly, talking almost to himself rather than at me. "You did, Ringo."
********************************************************
"Do you need a ride, Ringo-ah?" Gaesuh asked as we pulled our suitcases out of the bus.
"Nah, I can walk." I gave her a secret smile. "Besides, I heard you're planning on giving that Suho a ride. I wouldn't want to be a third wheel or anything, would I?" (YES, this is EXO-K's Suho. I randomly decided to give the "cute boy" Gaesuh kept flirting with a name, simply because this is also foreshadowing my next fanfic, which I have decided will feature EXO. And no, I'm not doing it simply because EXO is so popular these days, but because I love EXO and I've been planning this FOREVER)
Gaesuh blushed and slapped my arm. "Sssh, Ringo!"
Laughing, I waved goodbye.
"We need to meet up later!!!" Dongwoon called at me as I passed by them.
"We will! We promised Baejun we'll go to Lotte World, remember?" I laughed, giving them a two- salute as I walked down the street to go back home.
I hummed happily to myself. The sky was clear and blue when we came back to Seoul. Everything seemed worry-free. Hyunseung became my boyfriend-sort-of-still-not-really-used-to-that-word. Life was great, and I've never felt so alive, so HAPPY.
"I'm ho~~~me!!!" I sang as I opened the door.
There was nobody there. Typical. Umma and appa probably went out shopping, or renting a movie, or treating each other to a cute little dinner, and completely forgot I was coming home today. This was so common it wasn't even funny.
Baejun? He should be home from school by now, so he's probably playing video games or sleeping. Seriously, that kid's a sloth. A day at Lotte World will tire him out for a week.
The phone rang. Not wanting to disturb Baejun in case he really was sleeping, I dashed to the phone, still chuckling over my sloth joke. "Hello?"
"Saja Ringo?"
There was only one person I knew who called me by my full name only. "Im Raehi. Wassup?"
"Ringo, they won. We lost."
There was something weirdly urgent in her voice that made all my good humour dissipate. "What? Who won?"
"Ringo, dammit, focus! They won! We lost!"
Her words slowly started to sink in. I gripped the phone tighter, feeling like it might slip out of my clammy hands and break. "But, I thought .... you said......Teen Top, they were....."
"I just found them. In an abandoned warehouse, all beaten unconscious. Even L. Joe, although he managed to call my cell phone twenty minutes ago. L. Joe, their ace! Ringo, it's over. We've lost. There's nothing else I can do for you."
"But.....what do you mean?" I whispered, my heart starting to beat double time, the pounding roaring in my ears. "What have we lost?"
Raehi's voice sounded choked. "I'm so sorry, Ringo."
"Raehi, what did we lose?"
I gasped, my face paling. I suddenly lost all muscle control. The phone slipped out of my hands and crashed to the floor.
"B-Baejun?" I called out weakly. "Baejun?"
There was no sound.
Forcing my body to move, I jerked up the stairs. "Baejun! Baejun!" My voice was becoming hysterical and high-pitched. "BAEJUN!!! BAEJUN!!!"
I wrenched open the bedroom door. His room had been torn apart. Posters were ripped from the walls, the drawers turned over. Baejun's Playstation was broken and flung across the room, as was his video games. The bed was lying on its side, the blankets ripped into shreds and thrown all over the place.
I felt something brush against my feet and I picked it up with trembling hands.
It was Leone, his favourite stuffed lion plushie. A single jagged tear, looking as if it was cut using a knife, ripped down Leone's stomach, revealing the white stuffing on the inside.
I turned over the toy, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
Written in permanent black marker all down the lion's back, were the words:
If
You
Want
To
See
Him
Alive
"Baejun!" I whispered.
Suddenly, I heard what sounding like muffled screams and kicking. I turned towards the closet door and threw it open.
"Umma! Appa!" I gasped, bending down immediately to untie my parents. They had been bound and gagged and shut in the closet. Umma's hair was a mess and her face was streaked with tears and bruises, while appa had a black eye, several cuts, and a bloody nose.
"Ringo ---" Umma sobbed the second her gag was free. "They've taken him, they've taken Baejun ---"
"It's okay, don't worry," I said, my heart pounding right into my ears. "I'll find him, I'll save him."
I turned to leave, but appa gripped my arm. "Ringo, don't! They're too strong. You may have been a gangster before, sweetheart, but you won't win."
I turned back to him and gently pulled him away. My voice was oddly calm when I said, "It's okay, umma, appa. I won't let another family member die."
And then I was off. I flew to my bedroom first, and wrenched open my closet. I tossed aside jeans and shirts alike in a frenzy, until I found what I wanted -- a small little shoebox.
I opened the lid, breathing hard as I stared at the object inside.
Nestled carefully inside the box was a pair of black, fingerless gloves.
My favourite pair.
****************************************************************
So, the is here!!!
And yeah, I've decided to put up a poll, because I have two fanfic ideas for both EXO-K or EXO-M.
To those who like reading my fanfics and to those who care, please vote on my poll whether I should write the EXO-K or the EXO-M fanfic first.
Comments