Chapter Text
Ryu Soo-yeol was corrupt, ambitious. The common theme of his essence would make for a great villain. Or at least a minor one, the one everyone hates when they come on screen because they’re so aggravating. So when K said he was a hero of all things, he was honestly intrigued. Could K be a manifestation of his consciousness? He seemed to be everything Soo-yeol had wanted to be. A very long time ago, before the underhanded deals, and the newfound shame when seeing his reflection.
K liked to come out at the worst of times. The lunatic does it on purpose to annoy him, enjoying how he makes him suffer. Ignoring him is the best he can do while trying to get through the day. Try sharing a body with a man that has an opposite personality it’s exhausting. So far, he’s only called K out twice. The first time, he appreciated the benefits of having a strong and crazy side of himself take down criminals twice his size. And the second, well, it wasn’t his best moment. He’d done the cowardly thing and begged for mercy to a murderer. It was no wonder K had looked at him with such contempt. Since then, K hasn’t been so keen to help or stay out of his way. Overriding Soo-yeol’s authority over his body, he would torment him with his presence. So he compromised, which he was now coming to feel may have been a rash decision.
It started small, he’d miss an alarm and would arrive to work a few minutes late. Then, he was bumping into people and furniture. And the latest, he ran a red light and almost crashed into a stop sign. Still, he wasn’t ready to confront K, or he’d risk losing his job. He would just have to survive without sleep. How many days did he have until he died from exhaustion? He wasn’t sure, but K sure didn’t seem to care. As he never mentioned it or laughed at his growing absentmindedness.
“Soo-yeol?” A hand on his shoulder made him practically jump out of his skin. “Soo-yeol! What is going on with you? You look like you’re about to kneel over. Why don’t you go rest?” His mother’s worried voice pierced through him. Rest?
“No! I mean, I think I need some air- Yeah, and I’ll be fine.” He laughed nervously. The thought of falling asleep only for K to come out and do damage during the day had him sweating bullets. Soo-yeol was out the door before his mother could protest. He walked aimlessly, as driving would have been dangerous due to the state he’s in. His vision was blurring around the edges. Soo-yeol kept walking until the crowd and city thinned out. The sensation of wind cooling his heated skin calmed him. The gravel under his shoes was the only sound he focused on. He was so tired that he didn’t hear the sound of an oncoming train. Hadn’t even noticed when he had reached the train tracks. A familiar arm on his neck, dragging him back, did make him open his eyes. Less than two feet in front of him, a cargo train was speeding past him. He had almost-
“What are you, crazy?” K’s manic cackles brought tears of relief to his eyes. K’s here, he’s safe. Soo-yeol reached up and cradled the arm that had him practically in a chokehold. K peered down at him curiously before bursting out laughing. “What a strange way to say thanks,” and with that, he let him go.
“K,” he gasped out. Hand still cradling the other’s arm, he tried focusing his blurry vision on the man.
“Yes?” K’s face was strangely neutral now.
“I was- I-,” he hiccuped through his words, “I almost killed us.” When K didn’t jest or scold, he let go of K’s arm in favor of his jacket. His sleep-deprived brain had taken away his last semblance of shame or rationality. Without them, nothing stopped him from burying his face on K’s shoulder. He leaned all his weight on the other and sobbed.
“Get off,” K scoffed angrily. Strong hands pushed him away and Soo-yeol toppled over. He immediately crawled back and held onto K’s legs.
“No! Please, K. We could die. Please let me sleep, please. I’ll do anything you want!” Soo-yeol in an attempt to show he meant anything , brushed his cheek against K’s front. It was almost comical how K reeled back in shock.
“Is this how you beg criminals and officials to protect you?” The disgust in K’s voice had him shaking his head. He wanted to defend himself but he knew K was just trying to get a rise out of him. Giving up, he stood back up and embraced K, even as he punched Soo-yeol on the nose as he came closer. His arms wrapped around K’s shoulders, and Soo-yeol’s nose bumped against K’s chin, making him cry out in pain. Still, he took the one-sided comfort of holding someone. He felt the heat of K’s stare as the other tried to understand why he was acting uncharacteristically clingy.
“My heart belongs to someone else,” K said after a moment. Soo-yeol doesn’t have the mental capacity of processing that statement at the moment. “I can’t return your affections,” along with the insinuation, “but I’ll let us sleep tonight. And I won’t come out if you take a nap, so sleep on your turn in the future.”
“Deal.” K nudges him to let go when he makes no move. He smacks Soo-yeol’s back hard enough to make him gasp for air. In retaliation, he cusps the back of K’s neck and kisses him. K lets him do it, using the distraction to take full control and letting him rest. Distantly, Soo-yeol does take notice that K had deepened their kiss.