Work Text:
Sieun didn't like to come around the internet café. It was the place where students’ dreams of academic success came to die. It was always too loud, too dark, too… suffocating. There was no natural light, only the faint buzzing of the neons lining the ceiling, he felt like he was trapped. There was no reason for Sieun, out of all people, to be here. Yet here he was, scanning the room to find a head of wavy black hair and horn rimmed glasses peeking above a monitor. A few eyes were on him, disheveled high schoolers who looked just like some of the guys in his class, and he mentally cursed at himself for doing all this. But it was about Suho, and he wouldn't let his closest friend go down the wrong path, even if it led him to places he wouldn't go with a gun.
“Hey, noob, are you gonna sit down or what?” said a boy that looked way too young to be out after school alone.
Sieun simply glared at him in response and the boy turned to his friend, muttering something about him looking like a psycho. Then, his eyes went wide and he ducked his head.
“Looking for me, pretty pretty Sieun?”
Sieun tried to hide his surprise when he heard a low voice whisper in his ear, but the reflex jerk of his shoulders betrayed his semblance of composure.
“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,” Seongje chuckled, twirling around until he was facing him, his smile all teeth and his eyes shining like a warning. “Wanna play a round with me?”
He had his hands shoved in the pockets of his burgundy school uniform, leaning so he would be at eye level with Sieun, swaying slightly while he waited for his answer like a kid in front of his crush.
He already knew the script: Sieun would ask about Suho, Seongje would lie to his face, and Sieun would go on with his day none the wiser. But that script was no fun, and Seongje was all for improvisation. It was much, much more exciting. He could see a faint fire burning at the back of Sieun’s head through his eyes, and he was ready to fuel the fire until it consumed everything.
“Let's talk somewhere quiet.”
Sieun's tone was definitive, not leaving room for Seongje to lead the conversation. He had to assert himself now, or he would get swallowed whole by the wolf in front of him. He turned around and walked towards the door, hands balled into fists on both sides. He wasn't sure Seongje would follow, but was relieved to hear the sound of his slippers hitting the floor as he happily skipped behind him.
Just as Sieun was about to step towards the exit, he noticed it was pouring outside. He stopped in his tracks, and Seongje grabbed his arm to pull him into a door on the side with a plaque that said “EMPLOYEES ONLY”. It blended with the wall so well that you would miss it if you didn’t pay attention.
“We’re not allowed-”
Seongje shushed him by locking the door behind him, trapping Sieun inside. He elbowed the light switch, watching intently as Sieun looked around the room. It was a stock room, with shelves full of hardware that took up most of the space in the room, causing the wide space to feel cramped.
“So, what would our pretty pretty Sieun like to know?” Seongje asked, his back against the door, blocking the only exit.
Sieun sighed, eyes scanning the room for a potential weapon if things went south.
“We got cables, if you want to strangle me or tie me up,” he said with a grin.
“Geum Seongje,” Sieun deadpanned, “tell me the truth. What happened last night?”
His smile widened even more, his deranged eyes twinkling under the dim lights.
“I had a nice night with Juntae. We ate, we drank. Not so surprisingly, your friend is a lightweight, but sooo touchy. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?” He pointed a finger at Sieun’s face, laughing at his frown. “He wouldn’t stop getting too close but I was a gentleman. I carried him out of there, brought him back to my place and let him sleep there. I can be sweet, see? Want me to take you out next?”
An offer for a date, or a fight? Sieun didn’t know, and frankly didn’t care. He had come here, braved his comfort zone for one reason only, and that was Suho. He couldn’t get distracted by Seongje pushing his buttons on purpose, trying to get him to snap.
“You know that’s not what I asked,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Then what do you want to know exactly? Use your words, beautiful.”
Sieun could feel anger brewing under the surface every time Seongje called him that, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he flirted like this with Suho every time they met. Their interactions on twitter already showed a glimpse of it, and he hated it. He didn’t like that Seongje was getting so close.
“Suho.” Sieun breathed out, his name sweetening his sour tongue. “Why did you call him and what happened?”
“There it is,” He sighed in exaggerated despair, and furrowed his eyebrows together to complain in a pout. “You only ever come to me to ask about him, it’s getting annoying.” His pout disappeared, lips curving up into his signature smirk. “But, you know… I can make you forget about him.” He took one step closer. “You like tough guys who fight, right? I do that too.” He clicked his tongue as he stepped closer, eyes fixed on Sieun who took a step backwards without breaking eye contact.
“Answer the question, don’t make me repeat myself again, and don’t even think about lying.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll make sure you can’t step foot around Suho again in this lifetime and the next,” he threatened, his jaw clenched hard and his eyes shooting daggers.
At the mention of his foot, Seongje’s smile widened, his gums on full display. “Now, we’re talking. I like it when you’re like this, Sieunnie. You have no idea how pretty you look when you’re mad, I bet Suho never sees you like this.” He brought a hand up to brush Sieun’s bangs away from his eyes, but Sieun grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm.
“Stop stalling and answer the damn question.” He added more strength, satisfied to hear Seongje groaning through his clenched jaw at the pull.
“Fine, fine,” He tapped out, unexpectedly fast. “I need my arm to punch Suho when he begs for it, so chill.”
Just for that comment, he wanted to break it, but he figured he would get more coherent answers if he didn’t.
Seongje shrugged. “There were a bunch of guys. Not the usual stupid high schoolers but actual gangsters, with tasers and shit. I could’ve taken care of it but I had the chipmunk. If anything happened to him, I know Go Hyuntak would come waste my time with his stupid flying kicks and all, so I had to call Suho. Happy?”
Tasers. Makes sense why Juntae said they had electric hands. But what about the whipping sounds? And if Suho truly did take down a bunch of guys with weapons while he had nothing but his hands and feet, wouldn’t he have at least a scratch? He suddenly thought back to the wound on his face he had taken care of, which miraculously healed overnight despite being pretty deep. Something felt fishy, but there had to be a logical explanation for it. There has to be. He got the information he needed, and now he had to go home before Suho came back.
“Okay, bye.” He sighed, trying to walk past Seongje but he didn’t budge.
“You think you can leave just like that?” Seongje asked, peering over his glasses. “Isn’t that too easy? Boring? Where’s the fun in that?”
“Have fun all you want, I’m leaving.” Sieun slipped through and got a hold of the door handle but Seongje covered it with his, holding it tight.
Sieun struggled to remove his hand and turned around, Seongje’s crazy smile grating his nerves in a way only he could. He was stuck between the door and Seongje, craning his neck to look him in the eyes.
“Not so fast, beautiful. I don’t give information for free. You should know that,” he whispered. “Suho doesn’t know you’re here, right? That’s why you want to go. So when he comes back from work he finds you at home, nose in your books as if you’ve been there all along.” He studied Sieun’s face, the smile still plastered on his face.
For the first time, Sieun averted his gaze. He hated that Seongje could read through him like that, he felt vulnerable, and it was the worst feeling in the world. No matter how thick of an armor he puts on, it seems like it’s all useless the second Suho is involved.
“What’s stopping me from telling him you’re going around asking questions about him behind his back and threatening people? Do you think he’d be okay with that? Oh, and the fact that you, his precious innocent Sieun, are lying to him!” He gasped. “How terrible!”
“What do you want?”
“Look, you know I have a certain loyalty towards Suho, so I won’t touch what’s his. But that also means if he asks, I am going to tell him why you were here,” he explains. He took his phone out of his pocket and shook it in his hand. “My price isn’t high, just one round of PUBG, two pictures and I’ll drop you off. You also win, it gives you a good excuse as to why you would step foot in here, and you don't have to be out in the rain.”
He had said the last words proudly, enjoying the fact that he had the upper hand now.
Sieun considered it for a moment, and figured this was the fastest way to get out of here. He admitted defeat, looking to the side where he saw cables dangling out of cardboard boxes. Oh, how he wished he could use those and strangle Seongje right now.
“Fine,” he mumbled, “make it quick.”