Work Text:
Rain hammered down from the heavens, in an unrelenting downpour, adding a dampness to the already chill air of Seoul in late autumn.
Hurried footsteps clattered upon the brick top and splashed loudly through the rivulets flowing through the streets. A tall, slender, effeminate man, dressed in dark, dirty jeans and a rain soaked red hoodie paused at the mouth of a narrow alley way to catch his breath. His shaggy onyx colored hair plastered messily to his handsome face; illuminated harshly in the angry red-orange glow of a small night club’s sign. With each exhale, small puffs of white clouds erupted into the cold air from plush cherry stained lips.
He swallowed thickly as voices sounded from behind him, prompting the man to move further down the ill-illuminated alleyway and squatted down behind a large pile of rancid smelling black trash bags; praying to any gods or deities that he had lost the men who had been pursuing him.
Several minutes passed, his senses trained on the mouth of the alley, as he slowly drew a knife from his pocket in the event he would have to fight his way out of this position. The light sound of hurried steps upon the wet concrete echoed off the walls accompanied by gruff voices as two men ran by. Several more minutes passed by, the only sound the electric hum of the streetlamp and vending machine at the mouth of the alleyway and the monotonous hiss of the rain upon the land. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the pile of black trash bags and let out the breath he had been holding, a white cloud erupting from his mouth like a freed spirit.
Cold-stiffened fingers reached into his pocket and pulled out a flip phone and he keyed in an all too familiar number, he held the silver device up to his ear and listened to the sound of it ringing as he pulled his arms tighter around himself, teeth chattering as the chill began to set into his bones. What he wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a bubbling bowl of kimchi-jjigae.
*__*__*
Across the city, Choi Siwon was making his rounds around the mob affiliated hotel he worked at. His positing stated he was a manager, but he was a high ranking enforcer for the crime syndicate that used the hotel as a front for their nefarious doings. His real role though was an undercover agent for the Seoul Metropolitan Police force. It was a rough job, but he had taken on the assignment to avoid a prison sentence due to drug trafficking charges. His handsome features and prior crime activity made him an excellent candidate for the role, starting out as a lowly drug runner before climbing up the ranks to the position he now held, earning the mob boss, Kim Jongwoon’s trust in the process.
The handsome man made his way to the unopened lounge and set about totaling up the damage to one of the private club rooms due to a tousle with some unsavory guests of the underworld variety. Having refused to leave the room they had rented after the count of three, a necessary amount of persuasion was used to eject them.
The enforcer let out and exasperated sigh as the final total came out, he charged the total to his company card and would have to report the total loss and expenses to the boss. His train of thought was disrupted as he felt the telltale vibration of the phone in the inner breast pocket of his suit jacket; he fished it out and glanced at the number then rolled his eyes as he answered, a small smile creeping onto his face.
“And what is it you want now Jaejoong?” he answered teasingly “You know I’m at work right now.”
“I need you to come get me.” The onyx haired man, Jaejoong, said urgently, his teeth chattering slightly. “I’m in Yongsan, on the west side.”
The smile faded slightly from Siwon’s face at the unusual request and unusual urgency. “Yongsan… what the hell are you doing over there for?” He inquired brows furrowing some in confusion as to why his boyfriend would be on the other side of the city at this hour, “Why don’t you call a cab?”
“Siwon please! I’ve gotten myself into some deep shit… deeper than usual.” Jaejoong explained as he moved to stand, needing to move or else he’d freeze to death. It was then that he realized the rain droplets had ceased hitting him despite the fact that it was still raining and the sound changed from the soft din to the harsh drum of droplets upon nylon. He froze, when the soft metallic click of a gun’s hammer sounded as it was pulled back and the cold metal of the barrel pressed against the back of his head.
Slowly he glanced up, and was greeted by the sight of Kim Jongwoon, the head of the Blue Ocean Group, the first seat of the expansive Seven Stars Syndicate. The man was about his height, an athletic build hidden under a non-descript black tracksuit, his hair a deep burgundy color neatly yet trendily styled. His thin, cat-like eyes were sharp and calculating, betraying the ruthlessness hidden by his boyish visage. Siwon’s voice called faintly through the receiver, Jaejoong’s name repeated several times before asking for an explanation of how he got in this situation in the first place.
“Hang up the phone Jaejoong.” Jongwoon said calmly, his dark eyes pools of ink within his pale face. The gun discharged, bullet burying itself in Jaejoong’s thigh, the dark haired man screaming in pain as he dropped the phone and grabbed his leg. “Do not make me ask again.”
“Fuck you Jongwoon!” Jaejoong cursed and grit his teeth in pain, blood seeping from the wound as he lifted the small flip phone up to his ear with a shaking hand, Siwon’s concerned voice now yelling through the receiver about the noise and what was going on. “Y’know what…. Never mind, I won’t be needing that ride after all.” Jae smirked as he looked up at the mobster and flipped him off.
The gun discharged a second time and the line went dead.
*__*__*
- Three months earlier -
Siwon awoke with a start, dark eyes blinked blearily up at the pale blue ceiling dimly illuminated by the lights of the city. He reached under his pillow and pulled out his phone then swiped his thumb across the screen. The mobster was bathed him a harsh bluish light as he checked the time. It was a little past two thirty in the morning and noted the little red number that hovered over the messenger application. That was what had roused him from his sleep, he thought as he tapped open the application and scrolled through the messages. His brows furrowed slightly as he read and sighed heavily as he glanced over at the man, the boss of the Blue Ocean group, snoring softly beside him, soundly asleep.
They had come to this arrangement after a drunken tryst several months earlier, when a rather wild event had been held at the hotel in Jongwoon’s honor. Too many drinks had been had and so, to save Jongwoon some face, Siwon had escorted the mobster back to his room for the night to sleep it off.
It was supposed to end there, but when the enforcer, who was already three sheets to the wind himself, was pressed against the hotel room door, a thigh between his legs and a hot mouth working its way along his neck, who was he to say no.
Slowly, so as not to wake his partner, the enforcer sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the pale colored comforter pooling around his nude waist as he stretched his arms over his head. The image of a Hanya-faced warrior encircled by a tiger in shade of reds and oranges, rippled and moved as the muscles underneath stretched and shifted, making the image seem as if it were alive.
He let out another sigh as he stretched his arms back behind him and settled upon them, allowing his head to lull back onto his shoulders as he stared up at the ceiling in thought. then slipped off the bed and headed towards the attached bathroom, gathering his clothing on the way. He quietly closed the door and the sound of the shower being turned on caused the boss to rouse from his own slumber.
The sound of the shower being turned on caused the boss to rouse from his own slumber; slowly he rolled over and saw that the bed was empty, the sheets still warm. His brain quickly put things in order as he sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face then dropped limply into his lap. He was growing tired of this arrangement, of waking up alone to a cold bed and the even colder reality that their coupling was like any other, a business transaction.
Jongwoon was pulled from his thoughts as the phone on the night stand rumbled noisily against the wood. He turned and glared at the device as it continued to vibrate then ceased as the call went to voice mail. The redhead sighed as it stopped and was about to lay back in bed before the vibrations started again, this time in a series of periodic bursts.
“For fucks sake.” He muttered and reached over to grab the device and was about to swipe a thumb over the lock but stopped as he saw a message pop up from someone named Jaejoong. A frown grew upon his face as he read the number then heard the shower shut off and quickly placed the device back on the night stand, then curled back up, pretending to be asleep.
Five minutes later Siwon emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the slightly rumpled suit from last night a towel draped over his head as he vigorously rubbed it to dry his dark locks. He quietly strode over to the bed and picked up his phone, seeing that there was a message and cursed under his breath at the number that was displayed then unlocked it and tapped the screen and held the phone to his ear to listen to the voice mail that was left, expression turning grim as he listened to the message.
Jongwoon could faintly hear a bubbly voice through the receiver and furrowed his brows. Something was growing inside him, bubbling up and when the message ended he stirred as if waking.
“Who was that?” Jongwoon murmured groggily, voice husky from sleep.
Siwon turned and smiled apologetically to the redhead behind him, hanging up the phone as he did so.
“Work, they need me at the hotel.” He paused then leaned in to press a kiss to his lips, “Sorry if I woke you. It wasn’t intentional.”
“What a bunch of incompetent assholes.” Jongwoon murmured as he accepted the kiss and leveled a tired glare at him. “Tell them to figure it out for themselves.” He growled and draped a tattooed arm around the enforcer’s neck and shoulders, pulling the younger down into a more possessive kiss. “You’re busy.”
Siwon leaned into the kiss, returning it before he chuckled softly and shook his head slightly and pulled away. “I’d love to but, it’s business.” He said.
Jongwoon locked his gaze on his lover’s for a few moments, searching for a lie and finding none he sighed and let his grip loosen from the man’s shoulders. “Get yourself a new suit on the way.”
“Yes boss.” Siwon stated before he slipped out of his touch and stood, giving the man a bow then turned to walk towards the door, tossing the towel into the bathroom to be cleaned up by the maids later.
Jongwoon watched the man go then laid back, dark eyes staring up at the dimly illuminated ceiling. He heard the sound of the door clicking shut, the lock beeping that it was secure and silence fell upon the room once again. A heavy sigh escaped from Jongwoon’s lips as he thought about the number and the voice on the phone. The two ran through his head over and over again before he sat up and reached for his own phone and searched through his contacts before he selected a number and called it. He held the phone up to his ear, the familiar trill of the ring sounding through the speaker before a voice answered, sounding tired. “Hello?”
“Eunhyuk.” Jongwoon said, a dark plan forming in his mind. “I need you to do some digging for me.”
*__*__*
Twenty four hours later, Siwon strode into the male restroom on the penthouse floor of the hotel he worked at. He leaned heavily upon the black marble counter and set the black satchel of guns and ammunition he had acquired on to the counter beside him. He opened it up and began to take stock of what he had; filling each clip and chamber with ammunition then placed them back in the bag.
The undercover cop took in a ragged breath and glanced up into the mirror; he took in the haggard appearance before him, a blood and sweat streaked ghost stared back at him; skin sallow, eyes red rimmed and bloodshot, usually neatly styled hair tousled and hung in his face. He flipped on the faucet, letting the water run, pain wracked his body as he inspected the wound in his side, a dark red blossom seeped through the white cotton of his dress shirt. He pressed a hand against it and grit his teeth with a groan as a rivulet of blood flowed out. A lucky shot had met it’s mark and the bulled was buried deep in his guts, no doubt fatal.
Siwon glanced over and grabbed the white hand towel hanging next to the sink and pressed it against the wound to stifle the gush of blood as he squeezed his eyes shut at the pain. The sight of Jaejoong’s blood soaked face flashed through his memory.
Immediately after the call had been cut, Siwon had booked it to his car and sped off into the pouring rain to the district that Jaejoong had said he was in. Once there, and after at least 45 minutes of searching, the cop stumbled upon the lifeless body of his lover amid the sacks of trash, a bullet hole between his eyes.
His blood ran cold at the sight, a strange hollow feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, as if a hole had suddenly opened up and whatever was there had been swallowed up, leaving him a husk. He felt bile rise up in the back of his throat and quickly turned; the contents of his stomach spilling onto a nearby pile of refuse; tears mixing with the rain as he swore an oath of revenge for his fallen lover.
Dark eyes shot open.
He couldn’t let it end here, he couldn’t let the bastards who had done this to Jaejoong continue to live, even if it meant giving his own life in the process. Thus Siwon pushed himself up with a groan of pain and splashed water upon his face then shut off the faucet and tossed the towel away. He straightened up, jaw squared as he stared at his reflection and took a deep breath and steeled himself, blocking out the pain as he stared at the ghost staring back at him.
“You will be avenged.” He said then grabbed the bag, turned and left.
*__*__*
The spacious VIP lounge was empty apart from the minimal staff who stood at the ready to serve the night’s guests. The space was dimly lit with recessed lighting situated in the floors that ran along the base of the dark stone-tiled walls; an illuminated walkway ran from the raised entry way and along the front of the bar, which in itself was illuminated in bright white and scarlet hues.
The sunken portion of the lounge was occupied by several small, square ebony colored tables draped with crisp white tablecloths and surrounded by modern, circular, red plush chairs. An illuminated moat-like water feature in the center of the lower area created a small island populated with the same tables and chairs. Above it, globed lights hung like a cluster of grapes adding to the soft almost mysterious mood lighting of the lounge.
A larger table, it too draped with a pure white table cloth, was surrounded on four sides by large, plush loveseat-like couches and was situated between the brightly lit scarlet colored bar and the expansive floor to ceiling windows which looked out at the illuminated skyline of night time Seoul.
Six figures occupied the plush chairs, Jongwoon, dressed in a crisp black suit and sapphire blue dress shirt shirt. He was accompanied by his lieutenant Leeteuk, a thin man with a warm yet stern face, dressed in a cream colored suit and black shirt.
Opposite of the Blue Ocean pa representatives sat Bang Yongguk; the thin, second head of the Twin Dragon syndicate who ruled over the Gangnam district of Seoul and his lieutenant Kim Himchan, a fox faced man with razor cut chestnut-colored hair that framed his thin face, dressed casually in a nice jacket and black shirt.
The last party seated to the left of Jongwoon were the representatives of The Ssijog pa; a rising syndicate in the Korean underworld. The head, Kihyun, a dark haired young man with a calculating gaze dressed in a simple black suit jacket, black dress shirt and black slacks. Beside him sat his lieutenant Shin Wonho, a muscular man with a handsome face, slicked back platinum blonde hair and dressed in a simple black turtle neck sweater that clung tightly to his muscular arms and chest and black slacks, his dark emerald green jacket was draped on the chair behind him, gun holster and piece on display.
A fourth place was set yet was empty. The representatives of the seventh head of the seven stars seemed to be running a touch late to the meeting, reasonable considering the recent incident that had befallen the small group. But that was of no concern to Jongwoon as they would be brought up to speed when they arrived.
Upon the table, fine china cups in the shade of sapphire blue steamed with dark coffee; sparkling, etched crystal tumblers of alcohol and small plates, matching the color of the elegant coffee cups, of finger sandwiches, which were essentially layers of a cabbage slaw, egg and potato salad, a crab salad and a thin layer of strawberry preserves to round it out between lightly toasted pieces of bread, were also distributed between the occupants. A game of mahjong was laid out upon the center of the table and the group conversed casually, interspersed with business, unaware of the chaos that was about to be unleashed upon them.
*__*__*
Siwon arrived via elevator to the floor of the lounge and exited, two bodies lay slumped against the mirrored walls inside. He rounded his way to the brightly illuminated hallway gun drawn, his stride calm and determined as he unloaded one round into the body guard’s chest as he tried to stop him from entering the lounge, splattering the luminous wall behind him with blood. He turned the corner and unloaded a solitary round into the next guard, and a second into the one behind him further down the hallway; each body falling to the ground before they could shout or fire off a single round.
He turned the corner and dispatched the two remaining guards who stood outside of the door then disappeared through the solitary doorway, silence elapsed before two more bangs and strangled cries were heard followed by the sound of a semi-automatic going off.
*__*__*
The lounge was quiet apart from the gangster’s light chatter and hearty laughs, the soft music playing overhead breaking up the absolute silence. That was broken though when a man stumbled through the curtained door on the other side of the large room, his hand held to his neck as he choked upon his own blood, unable to breathe through the hole ripped in his neck and stumbled over the walkway into the recessed area below.
The unexpected sound and sight caught the attention of Wonho who set his tiles down and slowly stood, a confused expression coloring his face as he tried to make sense of the occurrence, Kihyun was second to notice and slowly rose as the other followed suit, muttering amongst themselves as they tried to figure out the cause, weapons slowly drawn in cautionary defense. There was no way someone would have the balls to storm the castle, it was impossible.
Jongwoon glanced up at his guests then slowly turned around, coffee cup raised to his lips slowly lowered as Siwon strode in, thin eyes widening slightly at the sight of the man, who he had been told had been taken care of. A minor oversight and further proved the incompetence of the men under him, but things would be taken care of soon enough, either by his own hands or by nature herself judging from the wound in Siwon’s abdomen.
Slowly the redhead set the coffee cup and it’s saucer down on the table and stood, Leeteuk grabbed his arm and shook his head with a pointed gaze. It wasn’t safe, he shouldn’t go. But the boss simply shook the older man off of him and proceeded.
“Choi Siwon! Fancy seeing you here of all places” Jongwoon called out in greeting as he moved to meet the man coming to meet him. “I hear that you’re supposed to be six feet under by now.”
They met in the middle of the illuminated walkway that skirted the front of the bar, Siwon’s dark eyes were leveled at the man, thick brows furrowed as he stopped leaving a distance of three feet between himself and his former boss. Jongwoon stopping the same distance, his dark eyes gave the man a once over before locking onto his face.
“You look like death warmed over, you haunting me now?” the mob boss quipped, only to be met with more silence.
“Why did you do it.” Siwon asked after several minutes of silence, anguish coloring his features as he squeezed the grip of the gun in his fist. “Tell me. Why did you kill Jaejoong?”
Jongwoon blinked, a confused expression passing over his features before understanding illuminated them.
“Ah… I see. So that is what this is about.” He murmured more to himself than to the man before him. “Do you really wish to know?”
“Tell me!” Siwon ordered as he whipped the gun up and pointed it at the mobster’s head, his vision doubling slightly and blinked it away. Behind the red head, one of the body guards who had edged in from one of the side tables moved to flank Siwon to take him out. The former turned the gun and fired one round into the man from over Jongwoong’s shoulder then leveled the gun once again at his forehead.
“Tell me why! Why did you do it? I need to know… SO TELL ME!” voice echoing momentarily in the vastness of the room.
“Would it make any difference at this point?” The red head sighed “Why are you doing this Siwon? Can you answer that, huh?”
Anguish tinged Siwon’s features as he listened to the man before him, his arm shaking, tears welling in his eyes then rolled down his cheeks.
“You don’t want to do this Siwon.” The man said, watching the other calmly as he lowered the gun and sighed the breath he had been holding. “Was his life really worth going through all of this?”
A beat passed, a memory of Jaejoong’s smile as they laid together in bed, sunlight fliltering in through the windows and illuminating his lover’s skin and hair just enough to make it seemed as if he were glowing flickered in Siwon’s mind. He steeled himself as he lifted the gun and fired two rounds into the mobster’s chest.
What ensued was a chain reaction similar to the domino effect.
Jongwoon’s body fell to the ground as if in slow motion, the room grew silent everyone too stunned to move before Leeteuk released a bellow and fired upon Siwon, bullet grazing the side of the man’s head just above his ear, stunning and disorienting him as he fell to the floor as if dead. The group surged forward to flank him but the enforcer gripped the gun and fired, taking out Leeteuk and Himchan as he jumped up and ran to dive behind the bar.
The bodyguards and accompanying gang members began to fire upon the bar, Kihyun getting hit in the exchange while several of the others ducked behind pillars to shield themselves, one of the body guards unloaded the clip in his gun striking the glass window while another stumbled back through the weakened glass and tumbled to his demise.
Siwon breathed heavily as he covered his head from the hail of gunfire and broken glass that rained down upon him. Wonho grabbed one of the fallen guard’s semi-automatic and unloosed the remainder of the lip upon the bar, Siwon waited until the fire stopped and buried two slugs into the platinum haired man’s shoulder and chest. A bullet whizzed by his head as a group of men, the late representatives of the seventh head of the seven stars arrived.
Jaebum, a young man barely into his twenties, was an enforcer of that branch of the syndicate; he had thin, fox-like eyes, two freckles just under his left brow, short ashy blonde dyed hair was styled up out of his face. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, black leather bomber jacket and black jeans, was crouched behind one of the pillars near the entrance. Jinyoung, a young man about the same age as Jaebum, but was the complete opposite. His dark brown hair short and neatly styled and was dressed in a black suit, dark grey dress shirt, had his gun out and trained on Siwon’s forehead as he pulled the trigger again, sending another bullet past Siwon’s other ear.
The gunfire began again and siwon ducked down, covering his head out of reflex as Yongguk and the new comers flanked the bar and began to fire down upon it, a lucky bullet blindly finding Siwon’s shoulder out of luck. The exchange ceased as clips were reloaded and Siwon took the opportunity to fire upon Yongguk, burying a bullet in his skull then grabbed a semi-automatic from the deadman’s hands and leaped over the bar and took out the rest of the goons, as they fired upon him; one peppering him with rounds as he stumbled and dispatched the man with several lucky shots.
Siwon wobbled on his feet and fell back onto the hard stone steps near the blood stained meeting table. He looked down at himself as he coughed up blood. His lungs punctured and a major artery gushing from one of the bullet holes.
He leaned back, vision blurring the darkness edging in as he struggled to sit up. The cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against his forehead and he looked up to see the vision of Jaejoong standing before him hand out stretched towards him, telling him it was time to go. A soft smile pulled up the corners of the man’s pale, sweaty and blood splattered face as he reached out towards the hand.
A gunshot resonated in the quiet of the room, Siwon toppling over as blood spilled from the back of his head, pooling below him upon the illuminated walkway.