Chapter Text
Wong Yukhei looked out at the shimmering stars above Sha Tin District. It was a late night as he stood on his complex balcony. His elbows rested against the railing as he looked among the city lights. It was going to be a long time before he saw Sha Tin District again. He was headed to Seoul in the next few hours. Even though he infatuated with his position and where they were seated, it didn’t fit with his satisfaction of expanding globally.
Lumidome. One of the highest-ranking mafia groups in China, or even among the top ten in the world. People didn’t understand the position of the mafia. Tested their limits and only found out when it was too late of what they were capable of. They overthrew their rivals in a matter of hours in one single night. Their leader, Yukhei, was known to be cold, stone-faced. He had a temper if someone messed with him the wrong way. A person was lucky enough to see the day light at all if they pissed him off.
“Yifan, reports?”
Yukhei’s voice was emotionless as he turned to face the older man sitting on a red velvet couch, wine glass in hand. Yifan had been with Yukhei since they were in middle school. His demeanor didn’t faze Yifan, he was used to the younger being stone faced. He had promised to follow Yukhei in all his activities. Whether they be bad or good. And he just wounded up to be part of the bad.
Yifan swirled the wine in his glass before he took a sip.
“Our position here in China will remain the same. Everything will run as per usual. A jet is ready to take off whenever you seize to be ready, boss. Passing through the Korean border shouldn’t be an issue, and if we leave soon, there’s a chance we could be there before midnight.” He replied professionally. His eyes glancing to the younger’s cold expression.
Yukhei hummed in response with a small nod. He expected nothing more and nothing less from the one he trusted most. He leaned against the railing, his arms crossing over his chest as he eyed the older.
“What’s on your mind?”
Yifan set the glass down on the table in front of the sofa before he leaned back, crossing his leg over his knee.
“What we’ll do once we arrive in Korea.” Yifan replied honestly. There was no need to tell a lie to the younger whose eyes were glued to him.
“Well, we will do exactly what we did once we arrived here.” Yukhei pushed himself off of the railing and stepped inside. “Take over and rise to power. And with you by my side, it should be easy.” He ran a hand through the others blond locks. An act that Yifan grew accustomed to over the years.
“You will be by my side, right?” He muttered. Yifan gave a soft expression to the younger.
“Always by your side.”
“Good. Because I want you to be with me when I take over the world.” Yifan hummed.
“Who is our next target?”
“Simple. Neozone.”
~~
The sun was just setting as a perfect evening ended in a small little pet shop in the center of Seoul. The glow of the sunlight and the colours of the night settling in glimmered through the store windows as Ten went around, making sure to give the pets food for the evening. With the occasional pet to the puppies and to the kittens, Ten double checked that all animals were set for the night with clean cages, and fresh food.
There weren’t many people coming in around this time, so Ten decided to start closing up shop earlier than usual. He was the only person working the shift at this little pet shop, and before closing he wanted to make sure that he got everything done before heading home for the night.
Being raised in a poor family, Ten learned to never slack off during his tasks, and at the moment he needed all the money he could earn. Ten had moved from Thailand to Seoul to pursue his dream of becoming a general surgeon. Although his mother was against it, he still left home to be taught at the finest universities in Seoul. But as a medical student, his mother didn’t send him money due to his run off, so he had to earn every last penny he could.
He needed a way to fend for himself, as well as pay tuition and rent.
Ten honestly didn’t mind at all though. Aside from his studies and the lack of friends, he needed to find a way to keep his mind occupied otherwise. Working with animals always made him forget about his worries, so he figured that this job would be the best to work as he worked away on his studies. If people at the university told him to “try harder” or “work hard”, it wouldn’t matter to him. Ten’s goal was to make his mother happy, to get her approval of his career choice.
Ever since he moved to Korea, he hadn’t made many friends at all. Perhaps it was because he was a foreigner. Or maybe because he focused too much on class and didn’t bother with socializing. Perhaps it was even because he was too focused on his studies or even his job. But in the end, it didn’t matter what he did with his time besides study and work. He had a goal to reach, and if he could reach it, it would make his world seem better.
He was just about to turn off the OPEN LED lights, when a friendly face got his attention and made him smile.
“Taemin?” At the sight of the older man, Ten opened the door and gestured for him to come in.
“Hey, I-sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check and make sure that you were okay?”
“oh, thank you. I’m okay, I was just making sure that the pets had fresh clean cages and fresh food to have for the night. Come in.”
So far, Taemin was probably Ten’s only friend in Korea since he arrived. Despite seeing the older walking home from the windows of the pet shop, or sitting outside with him during his lunch break, Ten grew fond of the olders presence. Seeing him and spending time with him, Ten slowly stopped seeing Taemin as a casual visit, and more like an older brother he could count on.
“What are you doing out tonight?”
“Oh, just heading down to the café shop before it closes to get a coffee. I decided to stop in and make sure you were doing well.” Taemin stated, glancing to the clock to check if the café would still be open at this hour.
“I see. I hope you get there in time and get yourself a nice warm drink! It’s getting a bit cold out during nights now.”
Taemin gave a small nod and leaned against the counter of the shop, watching the younger clean up the last little bit of the mess.
“I hope so. But I want to make sure that you get back home safe tonight. It’s not safe during dark hours around here. There are bad people out there and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Taemin announced, going to the shorter and giving him a small hug.
Ten enjoying getting these small hugs from Taemin. It made it feel as if he wasn’t as alone as he was here in Seoul. He gave him a hug back, before smiling to him.
“Don’t worry. I’m closing up shop now and I’ll head straight back to my apartment. But you be careful out there as well okay?” Ten suggested, putting the broom and dustpan away.
Taemin gave a hum in response with a nod.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be alright,” Taemin headed back to the door and smiled to the younger. “I’ll see you later okay?”
Ten gave a smile back to the older and waved.
“I’ll see you later. Bye!” Taemin gave a small wave back before he left the small little pet shop.
As Ten watched the older walk off towards the café, he realized how late it was getting. The sun was no longer visible, but the colours of the sun set still lingered among the darkening sky. He flipped off the OPEN sign lights and grabbed his bag off the counter in one swift motion.
He grabbed the keys and left the shop, saying a small goodbye to the pets for the night. Locking up, he put the keys in his bag and headed on home. Although the walk through the darkening streets didn’t help his paranoia, what Taemin said earlier started to creep into his mind further. The silence of the walk back to his apartment was eerie as he sped walked his way back.
Once he finally made it back to his apartment, he fumbled with his keys a bit before he finally got inside. Leaning back against the door of the apartment, he closed his eyes and gave out a relieved sigh. He locked the door as soon as he could and placed his bag on the counter top.
The place wasn’t much, small, and not very crowded by furniture, but it was all he needed until he finished University. He could live off of ramen noodles and cheap looking wallpapers until he was able to move into a place more suited to his style.
~~
“Damn it Haechan! Stop it, I swear you're gonna blow our cover!!”
“Geez Mark, okay okay… I was just trying to make the mood a little less stressful.” The blue haired boy pouted, crossing his arms. He was clearly upset from the olders words about the fact of his humming.
“He’s right, Hae… Boss trusted us with this mission, no one else could do the task. That’s what he said.” Jaemin spoke up, reminding him of their situation at hand.
The Dreamies. Aka – the innocent but deadly members from Korea’s largest and deadliest mafia groups, Neozone. Neozone is known as one of the world's largest and toughest mafia groups and is black listed on each police station in the globe. Dreamies were the youngest sub unit of that mafia. Unlike most teens their age, these few were reckless and a physical danger to the streets of Seoul. If you mess with their brothers, their family, they’ll make a mess of you on the side of the street. Wide and open for the world to see.
But these few do have their own restrictions from their boss. Although they were minors, they weren’t allowed to do what some of the older members were able to. No clubbing, no overdosing, and no going out past midnight unless they had Mark or Sehun with them. And most definitely. No. Killing.
“Where’s Taemin? Wasn’t he supposed to be going with us tonight?” A red-haired boy announced from the back of the car, slightly annoyed that their hyung wasn’t present.
“Jeno… He’s with boss tonight, across town. We’re merely waiting for the call-in case they need our help as backup. That’s why we gotta keep an eye out the windows.” At the mere comment, all the boys in the car turned their eyes out of the window in panic of being yelled at.
“Wait… Wait! Where’s Jisung?!” Kai practically screeched, in search around the car for their maknae.
“Relax, he’s just in the trunk.” Sehun responded unfazed.
“Oh, okay. Wait what?!”
“Cool it. He has his phone, and there isn’t much space in here for him anyways. He’s fine.” Mark stifled a laugh behind his hand before he turned his attention back to the windows.
Kai at that very moment wanted to throw hands with Sehun. But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, running a hand through his white locks.
“Okay.. fine, I guess we just wait then.”
~~
Meanwhile, in the quieter part of Seoul, Taeyong sat in the driver’s seat of his sleek black Mercedes-Benzes. His face was stoic, but his eyes glistened with hostility as he awaited the arrival of their rival.
“Boss, you usually don’t come out here… What’s the change?” Taemin and Taeyong were both sitting in the car for nearly over an hour and both men were becoming impatient. Because of Taeyong’s high rank within Neozone, he was usually never on the field. Most of the dealing jobs belonged to the Dreamies or the BLINKS. But apparently, this job was too risky and dangerous for those members to be out on the prowl.
“Somethings come up Tae. Rivals from China decided to slither their ways into the Korean borders. Someone’s gotta stay.” Taeyong stated, his voice blunt but firm, steady. But it couldn’t help Taemin’s curiosity build up in his chest.
“China?”
Taeyong tilted his head to look at the older member next to him. “Yeah. They’ve already started to wreak havoc in Lotto. Unit 127 is already there with some of our allies, defending that part of the town. These new guys most definitely didn’t come here to play nice.”
“But then why aren’t we there with 127 now?”
“Their leader wants to send us a message. I know it’s risky, but it’s better than having them enter our territory. At this point, we’re not quite sure who we’re dealing with.”
Taemin nodded in understanding. He didn’t want to push Taeyong’s boundaries any further, and especially now wasn’t a time to let their guard down. Despite being in the gang world, Taeyong being younger than him, Taemin saw Taeyong as a younger brother he didn’t get to have growing up. But while in gang speak, Taeyong was his boss.
As another 15 minutes passed the two by, finally a large black Lincoln pulled up from the depths of the darkness around them. Windows tinted all black. If it were anyone else in this position, they wouldn’t have minded the car with any suspicion. But Taeyong knew better than that. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, turning his knuckles white.
Taeyong felt something was wrong in his gut, but the moment a window rolled down and a barrel of a 22-calibre gun appeared in the window, he knew.
“Shit! It’s a tra-!”
Before the younger could even finish his sentence, the first bullet was blown out of the barrel and slammed into the windshield. Not enough to shatter it, but enough to give a message.
Taeyong became furious. He backed the vehicle up as fast as he could, as Taemin beside him loaded his gun.
“I guess that’s our message!”
“I’m calling the Dreamies!” Taemin snapped, the phone already pressed to his ear. “Sehun, get over here now! We’re on the other side of town, close to the university campus!”
As Taemin made the call, Taeyong’s knuckles were white from the tight grip on the steering wheel. He drove wickedly fast, tires screeching around every corner he whipped around. Passing through red lights, just skimming the chances of getting hit.
“Hey! That was a red light!!”
“Damn it Taemin, does it look like I care?! There are no red lights in a damn car chase!” Taeyong fumed. As they continued to speed down the streets of Seoul, going faster by the mile, so was their rival’s bullets. Closer and closer to breaking glass and popping holes in the tires. Taeyong had enough of it and was ready to hit back.
“Take the wheel.”
“What?!” Taemin shouted.
“Jesus-take the damn wheel Taemin!”
Taeyong jumped into the back seat while Taemin moved into the driver’s seat in one fell swoop. But he didn’t dare give a second to forget about his seat belt. The younger surged through the duffel bag stored away in the back seat and loaded a gun. Without a second thought, he leaned out the window, his red fiery hair flaming as fierce as the flames of rage in his eyes. He aimed and shot the driver and must’ve hit for the car swerved as they sped off, hitting a lamppost.
After a few minutes of silence and the hum of the car, Taemin finally broke the silence.
“I think… we lost them.”
“Shit! Look out!!” Neither of the members had time to react, as their rival hit their car head on, forcing the car to stop, crushed against the escalade.
When Taeyong finally deemed back to his senses, he saw three figures exit the escalade, and so he readied his gun and exited his own.
“Sup, assholes.”
“So sorry about that. You must be Taeyong. What my dearest pleasure to finally meet you! It’s such a shame we have to be on terrible terms.” A tall guy with blonde hair stated as a snake-like smile slid across his face.
“what do you want?” Taemin demanded. He stepped out of the car alongside Taeyong. Both of their barrels pointed to the tall blond.
“you’re boss.”
“And why do you want me?” Taeyong’s posture didn’t falter. His stance emanated dominance. If there was anything he valued more than his gang, it was his pride.
“how do I put this… Our leader wants to negotiate… some things with our so-called rivals, and that involves you and your gang Mr. Lee.” The blond stated.
“You’re going to have to go through me first.” Taemin loathed, taking a step forward, his entire body shaking his rage.
“So be it.”
One of the two didn’t hesitate to charge at Taemin as both of them aimed to rip each other apart. Despite Taemin’s height, his opponent was stronger and threw him against the window of the Mercedes, completely smashing it.
Going back to his own opponent, Taeyong turned around just in time to pin the taller one against the door of the Mercedes by the neck. The taller swallowed and smirked down to the shorter.
“oh, kinky.”
Taeyong rolled his eyes and pushed the man onto the ground, foot against his chest and gun aimed at his head. But before he could even pull the trigger, a sharp pain entered his torso. He groaned and dropped the gun, clutching his side which was turning crimson red. His hands clutched his shirt against a deep blade wound as he faltered down to his knees. Taeyong struggled to pull himself back to his feet but was met with stars and a rush of pain. He glanced back behind him to be met with a woman wearing a bandana.
She raised an eyebrow at him and held up a knife which was now covered in blood. She knelt down, wiping the blood off the knife on a bandana from her pocket.
“I like your eyes Mr. Taeyong. They’re beautiful…”
“Seulgri, no.” The blond stated, standing as he dusted off his pants. “Boss wants him alive.”
“I’d listen to your friend,” Taeyong wheezed. “He seems to be the smarter of the two.” Even though he was beginning to bleed out, Taeyong still found the strength to give an evil smirk.
This made Seulgri growl, as the other lady grabbed her gun and walked around the car to join sides with her.
Before either of them could lunge forward at Taeyong, a small car slammed into the three, sending them flying against the road.
“Are we late, boss?”
“Just on time, Mark.” Taeyong groaned, forcing himself up into a sitting position.
Taemin got up off the ground and touched the wound on his forehead. His hand was covered in blood before he noticed Taeyong’s injury was worse.
“oh my god, you’re bleeding!”
“No Shit Sherlock!” Haechan yelled from the back of the car.
“Boss, what do you want us to do?” Sehun then spoke up, even through the situation, his expression remained the same as his voice barely faltered.
“Take the Dreamies back to the zone. Get inside and lock up the building. No one goes in and no one goes out.” Taeyong slurred, feeling himself fall in and out of consciousness. There was no way he would be able to make it to the hospital in time, and never mind being arrested once he arrives.
“but what about you? We can’t just leave you here!”
“Jaemin, there is no time! It’s fine, I know where to go now, get back to the zone and lock up!” At this point, most members forget how aggressive and demanding the soft hearted Taemin could be.
He had already lifted Taeyong. An arm around his waist, keeping Taeyong close to him. He could only think of one place to take him.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“But-“
“Now Jaemin! Go!” Jaemin knew that there wasn’t time to fight with Taemin. He smacked Mark’s arm and Mark sped off.
Taemin gave a small nod before he pulled his attention back to Taeyong, whose eyes were closed as his skin was already turning pale. “Hey no! Open your eyes!” He demanded, worried that if the younger's eyes closed, they would never open again.
Taeyong could barely open his eyes, as he mumbled, “Taemin, I’m dying. You gotta get ou-“
“No! No Taeyong! I’m not leaving you! And you’re not leaving me! You promised me!” The guilt washed over Taeyong. He did promise. Both promised to stick by each other's side through thick and thin.
Taeyong had a family, and that was too much to lose. “Fine.”
After minutes of staggering around the alleyways of Seoul, Taemin turned the corner of run-down apartment buildings. At this point, the older member was practically dragging the younger. He struggled to contain his tears through the hallway, mumbling incoherent words through his quiet sobs.
Taemin finally made it to the last door, and desperately knocked on it. Over and over again. After a brief moment of silence, the door finally opened.
“Help.”