Chapter Text
Seonghwa is a part of a gang.
More like was a part of a gang. But he was damn good at it.
The gang he was associated with in particular was called The Royals- this was a name that was given, not made up. It started off with a small group of individuals, eight to be precise, but those eight were deadly. The leader had been happy with the men he had and didn't want to expand.
So if you asked someone how he got where he is now? No one would have that answer. He went from only having seven men, to having hundreds in what seemed like overnight. They owned practically everything, being the reason for them being called the Royals, and if they didn't own it themselves, they owned the people who did. Those stubborn individuals who tried to keep their own business tended to go missing. Of course, that was the worst case scenario. The best case scenario was that they started missing things;
Homes.
Job.
Fingers.
Toes.
Hands.
Legs.. you get the idea.
It all depended on who you were, what you did, and what you said. Because everyone knows to never disrespect the King. Those who tried, well, they had to deal with Seonghwa. A man known as the King's personal guard or right hand. He didn't take kindly to any form of disrespect towards his king.
Seonghwa was not known by his name, no one in the Royals were. They all had codenames and half of them had never been seen before. At least not by people who were among the living. You should be scared, but also relieved if you see the King and his trusted secondhand, Mars. At least that way you could get out of it.
Possibly.
You may be missing the things listed up above but, depending on what you do and say, you may get out of it with your life.
The others, you're not supposed to see them. So if you do, well, run and NEVER stop.
Everybody knew this but I'll share this with you, just to keep you safe. Don't want you making any mistakes and getting hurt. If you happened to come across someone you thought might belong to the Royals, all you'd have to do is look for their right shoulder. The lessers or newbies were known as guards and are branded with a single sword tattoo sitting diagonal across their right shoulders. Some of the more important higher-ups have two swords crossing each other in the form of an X, they were called the knights.
And if you see a crown, well, that means you've found one of the original eight. seven are referred to as the Princes and the leader as the king. We had already discussed that that's not good.
Now that you're all caught up, let me tell you about Seonghwa. The man who's as deadly as a jellyfish, but as hopelessly in love as a teenager.
With who, you may ask?
Well, with the king. Who else?
Or, as he's better known within the eight as, Hongjoong.
This wasn't really a problem. Especially because he could be as overprotective as he wanted and simply blame it on the fact that he's Hongjoong's right hand. "It comes with the job description." He's told Hongjoong several times in the past when he had been questioned bout it.
But a problem had arose. You see, at some point, Hongjoong and Seonghwa had developed an intimate relationship- in other words, friends with benefits. This had made Seonghwa quite happy, it was all he could want. Seonghwa knew he wouldn't, and couldn't, be in a romantic relationship with Hongjoong. Even if, by some miracle, they felt the some way about each other, they could never be together. It would cause too many problems. At least in Seonghwa's mind.
He was Hongjoong's right hand, nothing more, nothing less.
However, that wasn't the problem.
No, No, No. The real problem is that Seonghwa was currently sitting on his bathroom floor with two positive pregnancy tests lying on the ground in front of him, telling him what he knew and had been ignoring for weeks now. His worst fears had been confirmed.
One of the reasons why he knew Hongjoong didn't love him was because the younger still slept with other people from time to time. He spent more nights with Seonghwa, but mostly because the older was closer. That, combined with the leader almost never leaving for anything other than business, made Seonghwa the best candidate for a nightly partner.
Seonghwa, on the other hand, had never slept with anyone other than Hongjoong. So the question of who the father is like asking a person what 2+2 is, there was only ever one answer.
4, and Hongjoong.
The second problem was that Hongjoong had no weaknesses, that's what made him so powerful. The only people he cared about were so dangerous, they could take care of themselves. He would never have to fear that someone would kidnap Yeosang because, the very next day, Yeosang would be at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. True story. The people who kidnapped him? Well, let's just say they went up in flames.
Before or after they died will never be known.
Yeosang was the tech professional of the group. He could hack into anything and everything, no matter if it was deleted or not. No one was safe from him online, but do not think that he is weak IRL. If he was, he wouldn't have been a part of the original eight to begin with. That being said, amongst the other seven, he was the weakest link.
With that being the case, if Hongjoong had a kid, he would have a weakness. That would not only put the kid in danger, but Hongjoong and everyone who worked under him as well. Seonghwa would have to get an abortion, that was the best solution he could come up with. There was no choice. Seonghwa also decided to keep this to himself. Hongjoong had a lot to do, best to leave him to it. With that in mind, Seonghwa picked himself and the pregnancy tests up off the floor, he wrapped everything in toilet paper before throwing it away in a bag and tying it up. He'll get rid of it himself later tonight, it's the best way to make sure everything is done as quiet and efficiently as possible. He needed to make sure no one found out about this.
The dark haired man made his way out of the bathroom in a daze, standing in the middle of his bedroom and facing an opened window. Not really seeing anything or, at least, not taking it in. If his bedroom door was opened and someone happened to walk by, they would think he was simply enjoying the outside world. Luckily, when Seonghwa came back from the store, he not only closed his bedroom door, he also locked it. No one could see how truly lost he felt at that moment.
Another thing he needed to figure out was where he would go to have this abortion. He needed to find a place that wasn't connected to the Royals or anyone close to them, which was kind of difficult. Not just finding the place but finding time to leave without anyone noticing. If he thought about this hard enough though, maybe he could find a job that he could do solo. And when he's done, he could go to an appointment. These types of things needed appointments right? You can't just walk in and ask for an abortion, can you?
God, this was too much to think about. Luckily, Seonghwa didn't have to think about it anymore. At least not for now because a knock at the door caught his attention. The distraction behind the door happened to be Mingi. "Hongjoong wants to talk to you."
And just like that, Seonghwa felt found again. He was no longer the Seonghwa who was filled to the brim with anxiety, wondering anxiously about what to do? Where to go? No. This was the Seonghwa who could kill a man with his eyes closed. With those few words, he was able to forget about the last few hours, to slip into what he knows.
"Where is he?"
Though he asked, Seonghwa already knew the answer way before Mingi opened his mouth and said "He's in his office."
◇ ◆ ◇
This was where Seonghwa belonged. Standing behind Hongjoong- who was sitting across from an older man that owned a shady business. Back straight with his arms hooked behind him and a face free of any emotions, this was where Seonghwa felt the most comfortable.
What Hongjoong wanted was the shady man to sign over half of his company. The man, known as Cho, had four other men behind him. Seonghwa assumed he was using them to try and make himself seem more threatening and powerful than what he really was.
"And I told you no. You may think you're intimidating but, to me, you two are just children running around unsupervised. Since your dad's not here to put you in your place, I'll do it. So you can take these papers and shove them up your ass and, when you're done, you can get the hell out."
Seonghwa wanted to rip his throat out. Especially when the men behind him started laughing. How unprofessional. If his leader were to crack a joke, he would barely smile. And that's only if it was a really good joke, which the younger didn't make often. Not in a business meeting like this. But, like a good personal guard, Seonghwa waited to be given permission.
"Are you sticking with that answer, Mr. Cho? Is there nothing I can say to change it?" Hongjoong said in a calm manner, as if he hadn't been insulted. It was simply a false sense of calm. Seonghwa knew it. The brunette didn't like to show his emotions, not to anyone. So when he gets angry he, doesn't yell and shout, he speaks in a calm and collected tone of voice. Some people took this as he never gets angry. But those around him know the truth. Seonghwa could tell. He. Was. Pissed.
But Cho clearly couldn't tell because he said, "No, King, there isn't." in the most mocking tone he could muster.
Hongjoong nodded before crossing his legs, one over the other. "Alright, I think I understand." He started, Cho smiling in victory, "But, you see, I wasn't truly asking."
With that, Seonghwa moved. Before the other side of the room could react, Seonghwa pulled out his gun and shot five times. All four men behind Cho fell hard to the ground with holes in their heads. The fifth bullet grazed Cho's ear, blood falling onto his shoulder from the wound left behind.
Before Cho could even speak, the younger ripped him out of his chair and slammed him, chest first, onto the table. The man gasped as the air was knocked out of him. Seonghwa then pulled Cho's pathetic arms behind his back so viciously, he heard a snap. Cho let out a loud shriek but was only met with more violence. He felt the King's right hand man grab his hair in a fierce grip, yanking his head up and slamming it back into the table, rendering his vision blurry, black spots making an appearance.
Once the older man stopped struggling, Seonghwa reached beside him with his free hand and grabbed the very papers he had told them to shove up their asses. Seonghwa really wanted to do that to this scumbag under him. The fact that he said that to Hongjoong was reason enough to do it. But he refrained. Instead, he slid the papers towards the man's face with a pen on top.
"You see," The King announced, never once leaving his chair, "My father is six feet under and, depending on what you say next, you will be to." The man didn't say a word. He didn't move an inch, and he never took his eyes off of Hongjoong. "So I'll ask one more time. Will you sign, or not?"
Seonghwa released one of Cho's arms. Instead of answering directly, the helpless man picked up the pen and sign the paper without hesitation, pushing it back towards Hongjoong when he was finished.
"See? Was that so hard?" The brunette mused with a sweet smile on his face, as if he was trying to get a child to calm down long enough to clean their face. Seonghwa took the now sighed paper as Hongjoong stood up. "It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Cho. I'll be in touch. There are some things I've seen from the sidelines that I wish to change, let's have another meeting soon."
Hongjoong didn't wait for an answer from his victim. He simply turned and made his way towards the exit, not needing to check to know that Seonghwa was right behind him. Because that's where he's always been and where he will always be.
◆ ◇ ◆
Seonghwa and Hongjoong were sitting in the back of a car, currently parked in front of Cho's building. "Now that that's done, how many more people do I have to deal with today?" Hongjoong mumbled numbly, his body portraying just how exhausted he is. With reasons to be, they've been dealing with a lot of incompetent people. Mr. Cho being the fourth.
"Just one more, then we're done." Seonghwa admitted with the same exhaustion flowing through his veins.
He had been shot at least one other time today, though this kind of thing doesn't normally happen often. They had purposely left the more trigger happy people for today, so it was nothing unexpected.
"Who is it?" Seonghwa didn't need a list to know exactly who it was they were seeing next. As a matter of fact, Seonghwa never needed a list. He would memorize all of their clients beforehand. Their names, addresses, the reason they were being visited that day- all in his brain.
Hongjoong loved it because no one knew when they were coming. No one but Seonghwa.
"His name is Ki Ryung, he is indebted one thousand dollars. He's been moving constantly to try and hide."
Normally, some of the Knights would handle stuff like this. However, when their clients are causing too much trouble, that was when Hongjoong came out to play.
Said person leaned back in his seat before replying,"Let's go pay him a visit than."
◇ ◆ ◇
Seonghwa stood in front of Ryung's door and knocked. He did this two more times before someone answered. A female voice came from the other side.
"My husband isn't here." She called out, her voice sounding desperate and uncertain.
Hongjoong walked up a step closer until he was right beside Seonghwa. "Ma'am, I'm here for Ki Ryung. As long as you let me in to speak with him, no one will get hurt."
"I told you he's not here! G- go away!" She exclaimed, voice shaking.
"Ryung, if you don't let us in, we'll have to let ourselves in," Hongjoong calmly responded.
He was getting annoyed. The other side of the door went quiet. Seonghwa, having had enough of this back and forth, took a few steps back before he raised his foot and rammed it as hard as he could into the wooden door. The door screeched as it popped open, shards of splintered wood flying this way and that. Hongjoong scoffed as he walked in, seeing the family huddled up in the living room, Seonghwa close behind him.
"Sorry for the disrespect but I think I'll keep my shoes on. Don't worry too much though, this won't take long."
Ki Ryung had an arm around his wife on his left, and an arm on his daughter's shoulder who stood right in front of him.
"Are you really using your family as protection?" The King's voice was calm but still demanded respect, expecting an answer.
Ryung shuttered as he pushed his wife and daughter away from him, "N- no, of course not! They're going to wait in the kitchen while we talk.. " With his words, his the wife and daughter slipped by King and his personal guard, heading towards the kitchen as they were told. Once the two were gone, Hongjoong took a seat on the pure white couch, his focus returning to the man in debt.
"Have a seat, Ryung. Let's have a chat."
The man practically ran to the couch, sitting down as fast as humanly possible on the opposite side of it to keep some distance between himself and Hongjoong. Seonghwa stood a few feet away from the couch, hands behind his back and observing the situation, in case he was needed. It wasn't until a few minutes in that he heard the little girl from the kitchen. She was telling her mom that she was thirsty, repeating it over and over, as if her mom was ignoring her.
Normally, Seonghwa would turn a deaf ear to situations like that, but Hongjoong was armed and this man seemed pretty weak with the way he carried himself- not that the brunette couldn't take care of himself. The conversation seemed to be going pretty well. The man clearly knew his place and wasn't being disrespectful at all. As a matter of fact, he was a second away from begging for his life, telling Hongjoong what seemed to be his whole life story. The shorter man just listen to every single bit of it, waiting for the perfect time to use it to his advantage- again, not that he needed to. Hongjoong just liked to use his words to destroy people first, especially when they sprout nonsense about why they couldn't pay back the money they borrowed.
Seonghwa let out a low hum to get the other's attention. Hongjoong raised his head slightly, never taking his eyes off of Ryung, who was none the wiser of their secret communication method. Seonghwa tilted his head towards the kitchen to let the younger know where he was going. Hongjoong, in response, lowered his head before leaning back into the couch and resting his arm on the armrest.
Now that he had alerted Hongjoong to his plans, the older made his way into the kitchen. The woman immediately tensed up as soon as he entered. But Seonghwa paid it no mind. He simply went into the fridge and pulled out half a gallon of juice. When he first enter the kitchen, he had seen a sippy cup in the strainer. Since Seonghwa could only see one kid, he assume it must be the little girl's cup. He grabbed it and poured the girl some juice.
When he handed it to her, she smiled and thanked him, her eyes sparkling with joy. "You are very welcome." He nodded, giving her a little smile back.
"What's your name? I Munhee."
"Well, hello Munhee." Seonghwa gave a dramatic wave, causing the little girl to giggle. "I'm Mars. It's nice to meet you."
"Mars? Is that your real name?"
Seonghwa took a seat at the table, deciding to answer her question honestly. "No, it's not. But let me tell you a secret." Mars leaned in, cupping a hand around his mouth to whisper said secret into the little girl's ear. Munhee giggled excitedly, leaning forward to hear. "I'm a spy, so I can't tell you my real name."
The girl gasped and covered her mouth, whispering, "I'll keep it a secret." with the most serious expression she could muster.
Seonghwa had to hold back a laugh of his own as he held out his pinky, "Pinky promise."
The little girl then wrapped her tiny finger around Seonghwa's much larger one, repeating, "Pinky promise."
For the next 10 or 20 minutes, the two of them sat together and talked until Mars spotted Hongjoong in the doorway, clearly ready to go. He turned and said goodbye to the six year old.
"Can you come over again?" She asked with excitement and hope in her eyes, not wanting to lose her new friend. Just like all the other ones she had to lose with the constant moving.
Seonghwa could practically hear her mother stop breathing at such a request. "I don't think it would be good for your family if I came back. But we can still be friends. We can be faraway friends."
"Faraway friends?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Yep. It means, no matter where we are or how far apart we are, we'll always be friends." Munhee giggled at that, nodding her head in agreement. She then exclaimed happily;
"Yeah, faraway friends!"
◆ ◇ ◆
Seonghwa and Hongjoong were headed home now, finally. Neither spoke, just basking in the silence they provided each other. Today had been quite a day, and it gave Seonghwa a lot to think about.
Now that his body was relaxed, his mind started to race with thoughts. He had truly thought about getting an abortion at first, but sitting with that little girl, talking to her.. he could have something like that. He could have a child of his own, something he'd always wanted but never allowed himself to think about. He didn't want to bring a child into such a dangerous world. Sure the world is always going to be dangerous, but his world is much more dangerous than anyone else's. Not to mention the weakness he'll be giving Hongjoong.
Hongjoong.. the brunette will eventually find out. He always finds out.
If Seonghwa wanted that life, if he wanted a child of his own, he couldn't have it there. Not as a Prince, of all things.
And, most importantly, he couldn't have it with Hongjoong.
He would have to leave.
He would have to leave everything and everyone he loved behind.