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The first time Seongje sees Juntae is when Hyoman drags the kid along with him to their hideout. Seongje doesn't even notice the kid at first; he's busy with his game, and the kid is too busy shrinking under the stares of the people around him.
But then Hyoman wraps an arm around Juntae's shoulder to shake him harshly and says in that annoying voice of his, "Our team leader here has made great contributions in getting the phones."
The game ends, and slightly intrigued, Seongje turns his head. Seongje takes in the sight for exactly three seconds and almost bursts out laughing.
The kid Hyoman is holding by his neck is tiny. He looks like a loser who could easily get crushed to death in a place like this, where he sticks out like a sore thumb. He's so out of place among the sharp edges of the Union that Seongje can barely believe that he actually stole all these phones.
"Oi," Seongje chuckles. "Did you really steal all these phones? There's quite a lot."
"I–um, yeah," the kid mumbles, squirming uncomfortably. His voice is soft and gentle in a way that doesn't go well with the place they're in and nor does it with Seongje.
He feels the beginning of an itch inside him.
"What's your name?" he asks. Seongje doesn't know why he bothered to ask this. The kid is a nobody. Just a pawn that'll get used until he has nothing more to give.
The kid blinks up…
1… 2…
and look back down at his shoes.
Seongje wonders if the kid knows about how Seongje only tolerates eye contact for three seconds before he explodes and beats the shit out of people, or if he's just a wimp.
He has nice eyes, though, Seongje can admit that. Round and light brown, like a deer's. Seongje kind of wants to see them again.
Wait, what?
What the fuck.
"Keep it up," he says in the end before turning back to his game. "Maybe you'll actually be able to land a place in the Union one day."
Seongje doesn't expect to see Juntae again, though he is constantly on the back of Seongje's mind. He's just curious, and who can even blame him? It's not every day he sees people like Juntae actively working to get a place in the Union.
But then Hyoman keeps bringing Juntae with him again and again, and Seongje keeps seeing him again and again.
Seongje wants to ask what made him want to do this. Did that bastard Hyoman beat him up and is forcing him into doing this, or is Juntae more ambitious than Seongje expected him to be?
Seongje doesn't really want to have to approach Juntae to ask this though, not with Hyoman never letting Juntae out of his sight. He isn't that curious. But one day, when Hyoman gets tangled up in drinks from people he can't refuse, Seongje finds Juntae standing in one dark corner, probably hiding so he doesn't get dragged into childish drinking games either.
Seongje leans against the wall beside Juntae and asks, "How did you end up working for Hyoman? Threats, blackmail, or was it violence?"
Juntae chews on his lips, colour reddening under the abuse and shuffles away from Seongje. "All–all of them…?" he replies unsurely, and Seongje snorts.
"Right, of course," he laughs, shaking his head.
"And uh, he–he stops others from bullying me in return," Juntae adds meekly.
"Oh," Seongje chuckles in amusement. "I didn't think you'd be the type to sell your friends out for your own safety, but I guess I was wrong, huh?"
Juntae shrinks hearing that, his eyes resolutely stuck to the ground. "I–I don't…" he tries to defend himself, but there's nothing for him to say. This only amuses Seongje more. Seongje never bothers feeling guilty about his actions, even when he lost fights when he was younger.
It's all too bothersome and tiring. And Seongje is here to have fun, not get tired.
But he can tell that Juntae is the exact opposite of that. He is not strong enough – nor mentally or physically – to fight back against even a sore loser like Hyoman, but also feels deep responsibility for each of his actions.
That's why it's even more fun to dig his fingers into Juntae's wounds.
"You don't what?" Seongje pushes. "You think they don't know that you're the one stealing their phones. Of course, they know, but they can't do anything because Hyoman is the only one with exclusive rights to beat you up, right?"
Juntae doesn't reply.
Seongje doesn't want one anyway, so he lets Juntae's silence go without taking any kind of offence at it. He straightens up and simply walks away, leaving Juntae alone in his misery.
The next time Hyoman comes back, he comes alone. On top of that, he hasn't finished this month's quota for phones. Annoyance burns inside him, hotter with every second. So really, it's not his fault when he bashes open the head of the old dude mouthing off at him.
Hyoman looks terrified when Seongje looks back at him, and Seongje's lips curve up in a satisfied grin. That's exactly how Hyoman should look around him; not confident, or smug, or like he's actually someone worthy of Seongje's time, but fucking petrified.
Hyoman makes excuses and promises Seongje is sure he won't be able to keep before running away, and he goes back to his game. Seongje was looking forward to digging his fingers into Juntae's wounds again, but for now, the game will have to suffice.
Or maybe he can find some Eunjang bastards outside and play with them a little bit. Juntae or not, people from Eunjang are always really fun to play with. And he's sure Hyoman will bring Juntae around the next time.
Everyone here knows that he only brings Juntae as a distraction so that if he does something wrong, the smaller boy would take the brunt of it.
But surprisingly, the next time he sees Juntae isn't with Hyoman. Instead, Seongje finds Juntae again when he goes to check out – and maybe threaten a little – the newbie of Eunjang, who's suddenly started causing trouble.
The rumours surrounding Sieun are fun, and Seongje wants to poke him with a knife and see how much truth there is in those rumours.
So finding Juntae here – with Humin and Hyuntak, of all people – is extremely unexpected. Juntae seems to always find himself mixing with the wrong people, so Seongje isn't really bothered by seeing him with them.
That is, until he sees Hyuntak wrap an arm around him and pull him close; way too close. Juntae looks up at him with his face split in a wide smile, his face is red with the blush that's slowly making its way down his neck, and he's looking right into Hyuntak's eyes. Seongje blinks, and inside his coat's pocket, his fingers twitch.
He breathes out and turns away from them. He's here to look into Sieun, and that's all he's going to do.
Seongje didn't plan on trying to hit Sieun, but the frustration from earlier gets to him, and hey, Sieun managed to dodge all his attacks, so Baekjin won't have any excuse to go off at him for being too impulsive.
Pissing Humin off does improve his mood a lot, but there's still a bitterness on his tongue; nothing that can't be solved from picking an ill-advised fight.
So when Baekjin tells him to roughen Hyuntak and Sieun up, Seongje happily agrees to it.
Seongje feels a flicker of annoyance at the sight of Juntae with Hyuntak, and that's why even he knows that Hyuntak will be able to avoid it, Seongje throws a kick at him from behind.
Predictably, Hyuntak avoids it, but then he puts an arm in front of Juntae to push him away from Seongje as if Seongje has any intentions of hurting him. Well, since he's here, Juntae will get hurt, not just at Seongje's hands.
"Juntae, leave," Hyuntak says while Seongje watches the interaction with sharp eyes.
"Huh," Juntae blinks, his eyes jumping from Seongje to Hyuntak to back to Seongje. He doesn't look away this time, light brown eyes fixed onto his darker ones. Seongje almost laughs; looks like someone has grown a spine.
"I said leave, you punk!" Hyuntak screams, and, exhaling shakily, Juntae runs.
Seongje watches him go while two of the guys he brought with him go after him. He turns back to look at Hyuntak and grins. "How noble," he comments and immediately two people attack Hyuntak at the same time.
Hyuntak lays them flat immediately, and Seongje sighs in disappointment. It's pathetic how weak most of the Union members are.
"Why don't we go somewhere quieter?" he asks as if Hyuntak has any say in it.
The 'somewhere quieter' is the rooftop of a dirty, abandoned building. Seongje has no issues with beating Hyuntak up in the middle of the street, but even he knows better than to do something that might get the police involved.
Fighting with Hyuntak is always fun. He has a short temper, and he's strong, just not strong enough to beat Seongje. Fighting him also always works as a reminder of how he used to be so much better at fighting, when he didn't have to use his fists, and his legs were enough to break bones.
It reminds Seongje of the knees – and dreams – he destroyed and if that isn't fun, he doesn't know what is.
Juntae is brought to the rooftop by two of his lackeys. There's a bruise forming around his cheekbone and a cut on the corner of his lips, which tells Seongje that he must've put on a fight.
The kid just keeps surprising him.
Juntae gets thrown against the fence there and pushed down until he sits down, while Seongje beats Hyuntak up. He'll admit, Hyuntak got some pretty good hits and Seongje's sides are definitely going to get bruised as fuck, but once Hyuntak's leg starts acting up from all the movement, that's all Seongje needs to win.
"Stop it!" Juntae screams from behind when Hyuntak falls. Seongje cranes his head behind and sees Juntae stand up as if he'd come between him and Hyuntak to protect Hyuntak.
One of his guys grabs Juntae's coat and drags him back. "Isn't he cute?" he laughs while Juntae keeps struggling against him. "Fuck this, you asshole," the guys says and throws Juntae back into the ground.
Seongje's temper flares, and annoyance burns under his skin. Maybe he should just kill Hyuntak; it's not like Baekjin likes him either. Seongje can just go under the radar for a few months while Baekjin handles it, but he can do it, right? He can kill Hyuntak right here.
But then Hyuntak gets up again and fuck, Seongje really fucking hates him. But this is why these Eunjang bastards are so much fun; they just don't know when he back off.
Seongje grabs Hyuntak by his hair and throws him into the fence beside Juntae. His head bangs loudly as it hits the metal, and a part of Seongje wants him to bleed out right here.
"Glasses," he demands, voice clipped with barely restrained anger. He puts them on and crouches on the ground in front of them and says, "Now, time for a photo. Look over here, both of you."
He takes his phone out and holds it up, "1, 2, 3… fuck, I told you to look over here, didn't I, Seo Juntae." Juntae's eyes don't meet his, and his lips tremble as if he's about to cry. For Hyuntak, of all the fucking people in the world. "What? You sad? Should I beat him up a bit more? Let's get this over with, yeah?"
Seongje clicks the picture, and that's the moment Sieun decides to enter the rooftop. Seongje stands up and looks at the newcomer with a wide grin and manic glint in his eyes.
The perfect scapegoat to take out his frustration. Today might be a good day, after all.
Losing to Sieun in a fight was unexpected – and embarrassing – but Seongje has to admit that guy is one crafty bastard. Who could've expected him to stab Seongje in the foot with his own glasses?
Seongje isn't that bothered by it, though, other than having to spend money on that tetanus shot. What does bother him is Baekjin. Because apparently, he trusts Seongje enough to give him the password for the Union's burner account, but not enough to believe that he wouldn't be running his mouth to the police.
Why on earth would Seongje do that anyway when it could ruin him, too?
Seongje might be impulsive, but he isn't an idiot. And the complete lack of remorse on Baekjin's face after Seongje caught onto his plans is his last straw.
"I'm gonna take a break from the Union," he says, and Baekjin stares at him straight-faced without a single hint of emotion. That's right, Baekjin has always been like this. Only Humin is the one who can get him to react in any way. Seongje just never had this coldness directed at him, that's all.
Even with Seongje not involving himself with the Union for the time being, he keeps up with the internal affairs closely. If things fall apart, after Baekjin, he has the most to lose.
Baekjin is still desperately chasing after Humin and risking everything he has just to bring him into the Union, Sieun is still being more of a trouble than he's worth, and Juntae and Hyuntak are still fucking glued to each other all the damn time.
Seongje sits in front of his computer as he swipes through the pictures of the two of them together and feels a familiar itch under his skin; an unknown feeling that's more than just annoyance and anger, something he doesn't want to address.
He spends most of his days sleeping and nights playing online games. What's happening with the Union isn't any of his concern for the time being, and if push really comes to shove, he can just throw Baekjin under the bus. He has enough material to comfortably do that.
Still, at one point, Seongje gets bored with staying at home. Boredom is the only reason he decides to roam the streets for hours. It's been so long since he's picked a fight with someone; maybe he should do that.
Unfortunately for him, it seems that everyone worth picking a fight with has decided to hide away today, so Seongje ends up spending most of his time in the PC cafe.
Walking to Daesang Motors is something he did not plan. After leaving the PC cafe, his feet take him here without Seongje even realising. It's not that he hates the place or anything; it's just that his last memory of the place wasn't too fond.
But Seongje feels the familiar need for a nap tugging behind his eyes, and there's a bed inside, so Seongje shrugs and walks into it. What's the worst that can happen?
Seongje is rudely awakened from his nap by loud noises outside. It sounds like someone's getting beaten up, and for a while, Seongje just lies on the bed while staring up at the ceiling.
This is undoubtedly Union's business, and he wasn't kidding when he said that he wanted a break from it. But there's a curiosity inside him that he simply can't ignore. So Seongje slowly sits up on the bed and puts on his glasses before making his way out of the makeshift room.
Walking out, he finds five or six of Baekjin's lackeys are ruthlessly kicking a single person that's already on the ground. Usually, Seongje wouldn't care, but even with his face hidden, it's obvious who the person on the ground is.
"You guys are so fucking loud," Seongje groans. "I was trying to sleep."
Everyone's eyes shift to him, silent and contemplating. The three people sitting on the sofa stand up while the two beating Juntae up frown at him. They all have an undercut of fear in their eyes except the tall, lanky one who looks at him like he's an annoyance.
Seongje doesn't remember his name, but he does remember that he's a new recruit who got his ass handed to him by Humin once before.
"Fuck, what the fuck do you want?" tall-and-lanky spits while Seongje makes his way down the stairs.
Seongje takes a cigarette out and puts it in his mouth. Smirking, he says, "Nice to meet you. I'm Geum Seongje, you motherfucker."
Seongje ignores everyone else in the room and lets his eyes drift to Juntae. "Hey, Eunjang, just do what they want you to do. Otherwise, they'll really kill you."
"I don't want to," Juntae mumbles.
"What?" Seongje asks again even though he heard Juntae clearly the first time.
"I don't want to!" he screams, making Seongje huff.
"You Eunjang bastards, that's why you guys are so much fun," he chuckles. But really, no one is as much fun as Seo Juntae. "Okay," he shrugs. "Hats off to the romantic."
Tall-and-lanky is still looking at him and fuck, it's been more than three seconds, hasn't it? Seongje walks towards him, and one punch to the face is all it takes to take him down.
With how confident he looked, Seongje thought he'd be stronger.
The others watch the guy fall on the ground with wide eyes. They all step away from him, but clearly, the notion of running away hurts their pride too much. So after a moment of hesitation, they all start throwing their punches and kicks at him.
This is why people who refuse to back down are fun to fight. It's a thousand times more satisfying to see them fall than someone who doesn't even bother trying.
Once they're all lying on the floor unconscious, Seongje approaches Juntae. He crouches in front of his lying figure and asks, "You're not gonna get up?"
Juntae stares at him, wide-eyed and perplexed. "I–I can't," Juntae replies, and Seongje sighs.
He breathes out heavily, "Seo Juntae, you're so fucking bothersome."
Juntae looks extremely confused, but Seongje doesn't bother explaining anything; he wouldn't know what to say anyway. Instead, he puts an arm around Juntae's shoulder and another under his knees to pick him up and carry him to the sofa.
He's ridiculously light, so Seongje doesn't even have to use any real strength for it. But each movement makes Juntae jolt and wince in pain, and Seongje has half the mind to beat those guys up all over again.
Placing Juntae on the sofa, he walks to the mini fridge and takes out a bottle of water. He unscrews the cap and holds it in front of Juntae. "Drink," he orders.
But Juntae doesn't even look at the water bottle. His eyes are still stuck staring at Seongje. "What are you doing?" he questions.
Seongje would like to know that, too, actually.
"What does it look like? I'm giving you water," he deadpans.
Probably realising that he won't get a straight answer from Seongje, Juntae takes the bottle and drinks the water. He waits until Juntae is done drinking before taking the bottle away and placing it on the coffee table.
"Give me your phone," he says, and Juntae's expression immediately turns apprehensive.
"No," Juntae immediately replies.
Seongje rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue, "Then give me Baku's number."
Juntae frowns at him and questions, "Why do you want Baku's number? What are you going to do with it?"
"None of your fucking business now, is it," he glares but Juntae doesn't back down. "Oi, don't think for a second that I can't just take it from you forcefully."
Juntae chews on his bottom lip as he contemplates Seongje's words, and absolutely without his permission, his eyes drop down to Juntae's bruised and bloodied lips. Eventually, he takes his phone out and, swallowing harshly, Seongje does the same.
He gives his phone to Juntae, who types down Humin's number, and then gives Seongje his phone back. Satisfied, he sits down on the armchair and calls the number.
It takes a few rings for him to pick up the call. When he does, Seongje starts, "This is Baku, right? Your friend Juntae is here at Daesang Motors, so if you wanna pick him up, come soon."
"Who the fuck—"
Seongje hangs up.
"He's gonna think you hit me," Juntae says, and Seongje blinks at him.
"I don't care about that," Seongje tells him.
Juntae's brows crease, "You won't win a fight against Baku." And Seongje snorts.
"I don't care about that either," he says, almost laughing.
Juntae looks at him like he's some sort of strange creature, but doesn't say anything more. Instead, his head falls back on the sofa, eyes going half-lidded, and he melts into the cushions under him. Seongje lights up another cigarette and scrolls through his phone.
The guys on the ground wake up before Humin comes. They're all disoriented and in obvious pain as they sit up. "Kneel in the corner," he says mildly, not looking up from his phone.
They all obey without putting up a fight, and Seongje smirks, pleased. The shutter opening drags Seongje's attention away from the phone, and he looks up. He finds Humin standing there looking at the scene strangely, but he's not alone. Hyuntak has come with him, and Seongje has to bite back an annoyed sigh at the sight of him.
Seongje takes a drag of his cigarette and says, "You guys got here pretty quick." He looks between them and Juntae and tilts his head at the boy on the sofa, "C'mon, greet each other."
Immediately, the other two run to Juntae, slowly shaking him awake and checking on his wounds. Seongje's eyes linger on Hyuntak's hands on Juntae, the way he brushes his hair back and carefully straightens Juntae on the sofa.
Hyuntak carries Juntae on his back and walks out without looking back once, but Humin lingers. "I never thought I'd say this to you, but thank you."
Seongje scoffs. As if he did any of that for Humin. "Bull-fucking-shit," he scowls. "But are you really the top dog of Eunjang?" he ribs just to piss Humin off. "Juntae here seemed to have more guts than you."
But rather than getting upset, Humin agrees with him; just like that which only serves to piss him off even more. Seongje doesn't stay there after they leave. He's had enough entertainment for the day.
Things are a little strange after the Union abolishes. Everyone closely related to it goes into hiding, and Baekjin disappears. Seongje hears from several people that he's dead, that there was even a funeral, but like hell he's going to believe that.
Now that the Union is gone, Seongje loses his steady source of income, but he never joined the Union for the money anyway, so he isn't particularly bothered by it.
He'll find something else soon enough.
Even without the Union, Seongje's life doesn't change much. He still goes around doing whatever he wants and picking fights with whoever he wants. His life remains chaotic as ever as he even as he graduates from high school, and that's exactly how he likes it.
And then one day, all of a sudden, after two whole years, he sees Juntae again. Seongje kept up with Juntae and what's happening in his life throughout the years, but quite obviously, he never approached the other boy.
That'd be weird even for him.
But now, as he walks into the cafe for a simple morning coffee, he finds Juntae standing by the counter. He steps closer to Juntae without even realising.
He throws an arm over Juntae's shoulder and says, "Long time no see, Eunjang."
Juntae startles and blinks at him several times as if he can't believe what he's saying. "Geum Seongje?" he whispers in disbelief.
"That's me," he smirks. "Why don't you buy me a coffee, too, huh? I'll take an iced latte," he says to the barista.
"Why should I buy you coffee?" Juntae asks incredulously.
"How ungrateful," Seongje shakes his head. "Remember the time I saved you from getting beaten to death. You never thanked me for that."
Juntae flounders around a little, but then his bottom lip juts out in a pout as he has no choice but to give in to Seongje. He feels the beginning of a smile creep up on his face, but smothers it before it can fully form.
"Don't be so stingy. Aren't you a med student now?" he teases.
Juntae's head whips towards him, "How do you know that?!" But Seongje's only answer is a shrug.
Once the barista puts their to-go cups on the counter, Seongje takes his and walks out of the cafe while Juntae pays for it.
"The coffee tastes even better today. Maybe it's because you bought it," he says as soon as Juntae gets out.
"Are you a regular here? I will need to find another cafe to frequent then," Juntae tells him while shooting him a tiny glare that makes him look like a disgruntled puppy.
Seongje snorts, "You've got even braver since leaving school, haven't you? That's good to see."
"You're still the same," Juntae retorts.
"I never planned on changing," Seongje shrugs.
Juntae opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by a loud, "Jun!" from behind him. Juntae brightens instantly and turns around. Over his head, Seongje can see Hyuntak running towards them. He has yet to notice Seongje; his eyes are stuck on Juntae.
But once he's close enough, his eyes jump from Juntae to Seongje and them narrow at him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he spits.
Seongje shows his cup and says, "Getting coffee."
Hyuntak keeps glaring at him, and Seongje's hands itch for a fight.
"Don't start again," Juntae sighs, grabbing Hyuntak's arm. Seongje watches in fascination as all the fight leaves Hyuntak's body instantly.
Hyuntak eyes Seongje distrustfully before turning to Juntae again. "Let's go," he says. His hand intertwines with Juntae's as he drags Juntae away in the opposite direction while Seongje watches them go.
One of these days, he's going to take away everything from Go Hyuntak.