Chapter Text
Maybe Hongjoong didn't want to admit it, but Park Seonghwa's tip might have helped a lot - not to be vulgar and say it helped as fuck - unlike the day before, his bakery today was more crowded than he expected. He had used the banners he normally used for his stall, and since the bakery wasn't far from the market where he usually sold his food, people must have seen it and been interested.
And his old customers also showed up there, as always Mrs. Dong ordered his famous banana sweets, the mother of the twins Lia and Liu bought two tingling cakes for her two little ants, the young lady Andie showed up there with her boyfriend and made him taste of the cheese pudding and even ordered two generous slices of the carrot and honey cake that she always ordered - and who knew that the boyfriend named Welder would like it so much, and ordered a slice of the vanilla and caramel pie, and who knew, would fallen in love with the pie -, there was also the couple who ate all his sweets, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Kim, and this time Kim really ordered a Belgian chocolate cake for the trip, as Hongjoong already expected, after all he knew each one of your old customers. And he was even happier to meet the new ones.
Three boys between 17 and 19 years old passed by, they were trainees in some Entertainment company that Hongjoong did not keep the name, but he knew that the three had fallen in love with his White Manjar with apricots. He also received a visit from a mechanic called Hejin, who said she was looking for something that could replace all the energy spent during her work, so Kim introduced her to his pot cakes, which could be eaten even with a hand dirty with grease, and the woman soon adopted the cherry one as her favourite. And to his surprise, even his former college teacher showed up there, and didn't fail to taste what she loved most about Kim's menus when he cooked at school: His brownies with blackberry filling.
"You definitely deserved to graduate, Jongie." The eldest said, it was already 7 pm and the customers had already gone home. Hongjoong was finishing collecting the dishes and taking the tips that people left, when he heard the woman's comment and allowed himself to smile.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lee."
"Ya, stop calling me like that! You already graduated." The woman laughed, then Hongjoong sat facing her. "Do you accept?" She offered a piece of Brownie to the redhead, who declined as he wiped his hands on his apron. "Now you can call me Haeweng, or rather Hae." She smiled.
"Okay, Hae." Hongjoong smiled back. He liked the eldest very much, almost everything he knew he had learned from her. Besides that, after Wooyoung, she had been the person who supported him the most in following his own dreams.
"So..." She wiped her mouth on her napkin." It's getting late, and I think it's your closing time." She smiled big, she had a beautiful heart smile. "Then I'll be going."
"I'll accompany you to the door." He got up next to the older one, when they reached the door, she turned around and grabbed both of Hongjoong's hands.
"You have a gift, child. I see the most beautiful of futures for you, I believe in your potential." She caressed the fingers of the smaller one who smiled, holding back so as not to cry. He had always been sensitive anyway.
"Thank you." He said, truly grateful. "You are always welcome here."
"That's good, because tomorrow I'm coming to try the coffee pudding and the strawberry ice cream with walnuts! These recipes are familiar." She joked and Hongjoong laughed. The college had entered a cooking competition, and Hongjoong had represented the Uni, and won by making both recipes.
"Well, certain things never change." He smiled and the teacher said goodbye, and then got into her own car, disappearing from Hongjoong's sight as she went straight down the street.
The baker just wiped his hands on the hem of his apron and looked both ways down the street, waiting for a certain someone with black hair, pale skin and who apparently liked to dress all in black to appear, but no sign of who said. He closed the bakery door and took out his cell phone to check the time. 7:46 pm. And the strangest thing was an unknown number sending a message, and when he opened the chat, he was even more scared.
Hi, it's Seonghwa.
First don't be alarmed, your number was on a little card inside the bag where I took the sweets yesterday.
I'm just sending a message to let you know that at 8:30 pm we'll be there, without fail and on the dot.
You can leave several things prepared because my friends are extremely addicted to sweets.
See u later!
Hongjoong covered his mouth with hisclenched fist, trying to hide the big smile that was plastered on his face. Not that he was looking forward to the visit of the mysterious Park, far from it, pfft. But then he decided to go put some things in the fridge so they wouldn't go sour, and he stayed in the kitchen trying something new, and in the end it was all worth it. He had managed to make a chocolate muffin filled with strawberry whipped cream. He looked at the pink clock on the kitchen wall and it was already 8:30 pm. He cleaned up in the kitchen and left the tray with the muffins on top of the serving counter. There were six in total. Hongjoong leaned on the bench, anxious, and unfortunately the scene was repeated. It was already 8:59 pm and no sign of anyone.
He snorted, thinking how stupid it was to believe a stranger he had met yesterday, or rather not met at all. Incidentally, who in their right mind would talk to a madman all in black who practically invaded the Bakery at eight o'clock at night?
Only Hongjoong, really.
Shaking his head in denial, Hongjoong thought about removing the hair band he usually wore while cooking, and the moment he placed his hands on the tray, the door bell jingled. He looked at the door and there was the said whose from the day before, with a little smile in the corner, and this time he was even wearing a black overcoat. But unlike yesterday, today he was accompanied by two more boys. One was tall, very tall, and had unusually blue hair, but it suited him very well, while the other had black hair and light eyes. The skin of the three was very pale, they sunbathe? Hongjoong wondered.
"Sorry I'm late, we had a setback." Park approached with a flirtatious smile, which made Kim lose focus of the conversation a little, but luckily he managed to concentrate. "But we arrived on schedule."
"Thirty minutes late, super on schedule." He pretended to be angry, but he was smiling. And his gaze shifted to the two behind Park, who soon understood the curiosity of the shorter one, laughing at the curious little eyes.
"These are Yunho and Yeosang, my workmates." He pointed to the one with the blue threads and the shortest one, respectively.
"It's a pleasure." Hongjoong held out his hand to both of them and swore he felt something different when he shook that Yeosang's hand, he felt as if... More than the eyes of those present were watching him. Was it weird? It was very. "I made more muffins because I thought they would be more..."
"Ah, but not everyone has arrived yet. The two youngest are still coming." Park smiled. "They stayed behind to... finish a few last things at work." He smiled.
"And what do you work on?" He questioned.
"We are crossfit teachers, the two are still at the gym but they don't take long to arrive." Hongjoong frowned at Yunho's answer. What kind of crossfit gym still open until 8 pm? He wanted to question, but his own Bakery had been open until eight, so he had no place to speak at that moment.
He observed the three wearing black clothes, leather and all in heavy coats and combat boots. Okay, it wasn't that cold that night. They were really weird and the redhead was starting to review his life choices. But his train of thought broke when he heard two loud laughs outside and then the bell on the door jingled, revealing a blond boy - maybe his size - and another one with red hair that was as tall as the one with blue hair. Come on, why were there only tall people there?
Kim found it strange when Yeosang stared intensely at the tallest of those who had just arrived, then slapped Seonghwa on the chest, who also stared at the other redhead.
"Excuse me, Joong." He said and walked towards Mingi, being followed by the other two. But he didn't focus too much on it as a blonde hair appeared in front of him and received a hug so strong that he thought he could be broken in half, and he was pratically almost pulled across the counter.
"Hi!" The boy greeted excitedly and finally released the Baker. "My name is Choi Jongho, and you? Ah, how silly of me. It's written here!" He poked Hongjoong's name on the apron, and the shorter one swore he had never felt a poke as strong as Choi's in his entire life. "Then, I finally found someone as low as I am in this life. I couldn't take it anymore just talking with the head up."
Hongjoong laughed.
"I know how it is."
"Then I thought you were so cute and pretty." He ran his hands over Kim's strands, who felt his cheeks flush and pulled away instinctively. "Oh, I'm sorry! But don't worry, I'm already dating that bad boy over there."
He pointed in the direction of the quartet, specifically towards Seonghwa, and Hongjoong felt a little uncomfortable.
"With Seonghwa?" He tried to sound as normal as possible, even though he still showed discomfort when smiling.
"Seonghwa hyung is a hottie, but I'm talking about the hottest guy next to him." Then Hongjoong realized that he was pointing at Yeosang and not Seonghwa. Damn his bad eyesight, he needed to buy a new pair of glasses, since his had been broken into a million pieces by the one he once called father.
"Oh, i see." He tried not to show that he was happy with the information, but even if he didn't want to, Jongho had attentive eyes.
"And Seonghwa spoke highly of you to us." Choi said, as if he didn't want anything.
"Did he?" He asked excitedly, but then scratched his throat. "I mean, oh, that's cool."
"There's no need to hide it." He winked and Hongjoong watched the quartet to hide his embarrassment, the four were just talking, at least that's what he thought.
"Who is the redhead?" I wanted to change the subject.
"Song Mingi, don't worry, they're just talking." He smiled. But he knew they weren't just talking, he had very good ears.
When Jongho and Mingi arrived, the first thing Yeosang did was tell Seonghwa, he had noticed something in Mingi, which Park soon noticed too. When asking for permission, the brunette approached the redhead, along with the other two, while Jongho ran to hug the Baker. Seonghwa was smiling, but he wasn't happy.
"Mingi." He smiled, touching the redhead's shoulder and moved closer so they couldn't hear them. "Why the hell are you armed?"
"But I'm no-" Song looked at Yeosang, who raised an eyebrow, waiting for Mingi to lie in front of the one with... How can I put it? With the sharpest eyes among them. "Yeosang..." he grumbled.
"Nothing gets past me, you're tired of knowing." Kang said, shrugging.
"Answer me, why the hell are you armed inside a sweet shop?" The oldest among the four scolded, but kept his voice low.
"Boss, with all due respect, ya' know better than anyone that I don't go around unarmed." He smiled relaxedly, but Park's stern look undid his aura.
"I told everyone to come unarmed." He raged.
"Ya' know we can't." Mingi hit back. "Ya' must be thinkin' that imma just givin' ya' a headache, but that deep down I'm right." Said." We can't use our full capabilities in public, firearms are our last option and ya' know it well-"
"I know!" He spoke loudly, interrupting Mingi and drawing the attention of the baker, who looked at them confused. "I know." He lowered his tone. "But I'll let just this one pass, okay?" Mingi nodded. "And don't let him see that gun at all." He whispered.
"Take it easy, boss. Your boyfriend won't even smell it." Seonghwa punched the taller one on the shoulder, while they laughed and approached the other two. "You are with me, you are with God."
"I know." Park laughed, disbelieving, and turned to the baker. "So, little chef, what do you have for us today?" He gave another one of his gallant smiles in Kim's direction.
"First of all, just because you're tall doesn't give you the right to call others 'little'." He crossed his arms.b"I must be older than all of you, just by looking."
They laughed. Ah, poor Hongjoong, had no idea at all.
"Me, Mingi and Yeosang are 21." Yunho said the 'age' of the three. "Jongho is the baby, he is 20."
"I'm 22." Kim boasted, but swallowed hard when Seonghwa leaned over the counter, getting closer than he should have been.
"The date?"
"November 7th, I'm a 98." He said, stuttering slightly from the proximity and Seonghwa smiled, he was also 98 but not what they expected him to be.
"April 3, 98 as well." He smiled, he was older by 'eight months'.
"Okay, we know that Seonghwa hyung is everyone's elder, but can we get to the good part soon?" Park wanted to kick Jongho for the opening speech, but he restrained himself, after all he was also hungry.
"Okay, little chef, what do you have for us today?" He repeated exactly the same line from the beginning and Hongjoong refrained from ordering him to get lost.
"I prepared chocolate muffins with strawberry whipped cream filling. I created the recipe today, so you'll be the first to try it and let me know what you think." He lifted the tray, and seeing that Seonghwa was about to ask the price, Kim denied it. "Those are on the house."
"I already liked you." Mingi was the first to take one of the muffins, taking a generous bite and practically moaning in satisfaction. "Man, this was made by the gods, damn." Hongjoong smiled shyly.
"I ended up making six just in case, but apparently one muffin was left alone." He commented.
"Let me keep him company." The Song stretched out his hand to take the muffin, but was stopped by Seonghwa.
"Why not let this work of art be tested by the creator himself?" Park asked, smiling and Hongjoong got lost in those dark eyes.
'Stop looking, Hongjoong!', Kim thought as he shook his head, and then smiled, taking the muffin..
"And then?" Yunho asked, smiling.
"Hm." He analyzed it lightly. "Okay, this is really good." A mini celebration was established among the group.
"All your sweets are good." Seonghwa said.
"So let's start the eating session!" Mingi celebrated, being accompanied by Jongho.
"We like sweets a lot, so get ready, baker Kim, we're going to eat a lot and we're not going to leave empty-handed." Yeosang leaned on the counter, looking for a trash can and when he found it, he threw the muffin paper inside it.
"And we're going to pay, well, I'm going to pay because I'm the one who bankrolls these hungry people." Seonghwa said, faking anger.
"Hey! What a lie! I pay what I eat, okay?" Yunho protested.
Hongjoong smiled and took the menus. The eating and listening to stories section started, and Kim was really surprised to see that everyone there was interested in the stories, they seemed to enjoy listening. And well, Yeosang was right, they had eaten a lot of sweets and even took more home. Hongjoong was happy with the compliments, there were many, but he was really surprised when everything was paid on sight, and in cash.
"Well, thank you for eating at the Cake Fairy, and come back often!" Hongjoong smiled, holding back a laugh when he saw Mingi try to steal one of Yunho's quindim, getting a nice slap on the hand.
"Oh, I'll always come back here, believe me." Jongho smiled. " I loved you and the sweets. I think I can put you as a best friend now."
"Oh, wow, I was cheated in the face." Yunho joked, which made the others laugh.
"You are already Mingi's best friend." The Choi rolled eyes.
"We are leaving, thank you for having us, Joong." Park smiled, and with a bow of the head they all headed for the door. The last one to leave was Mingi, but Hongjoong noticed that something had fallen from Mingi's waist, he thought it was the cell phone, but he got scared when Mingi grabbed the item scared, and looked back with a nervous smile. And that's when Hongjoong realized that the object resembled a gun.
Shrugging and thinking it was just a thing in his head, the baker went back to putting away the sweets that were left, and let's face it, there were few. That group really ate a lot.
Hongjoong finished what he was doing and got his lucky knife - it was a cake-cutting one, with a crystallized lilac handle - that he had been given by his teacher, and put it in his shoulder bag. After turning off the lights in the bakery, locking the shop and lowering the revolving metal guard, Hongjoong made his way towards his home. But halfway there he felt the sensation of being followed. And well, he was, because it was only around a corner that he felt his wrist being grabbed, and when he turned back, his eyes widened when he came across a tall man, much older than himself and who carried a beard that only make him look more dangerous. And with him there were four or five other men, Kim couldn't stop to count, he was too scared to do that.
"Look who we found walking down the street, boys." The man spoke, revealing a cave voice, but it wasn't as comforting as Seonghwa's or Mingi's.
"I-I don't know you, I think you've got the wrong person, and i-if you'll excuse me I h-have to go." He cursed himself for stuttering at such a serious moment and tried to go, but the grip on his wrist doubled and his fear increased.
"No, no, you are exactly the right person." He brought his face closer to Hongjoong, scaring him even more. "And you will come with us."
Meanwhile, Park's group was carefree walking down the street, heading back to the place they called home. The main subject was the sweets they had bought and how they wanted to go back to the Cake Fairy for more. But the eldest among them all noticed that Mingi, the one who was always hyped, was quieter than usual, and with that he put his arm around the redhead's shoulder and smiled at the other three.
"You guys can go ahead, I want to talk to Mingi about something." He smiled, and thinking it was no big deal, the three continued walking, while the other two stayed behind. Seonghwa smiled reassuringly, but Mingi knew that Park wasn't very nice when they made mistakes, and he always knew when they made those mistakes. "So, Mingi... Is there something you want to tell me?" He looked at the redhead. "Did something bad happen that you need to tell me about?'
Mingi swallowed hard.
"There's nothin', bossman." He smiled, as firmly as he could manage. But Seonghwa could easily know that he was lying, he had an unusual gift that helped him realize this fact.
By the way, everyone there had unusual gifts.
"Sure?" He smiled. "But I'm listening to your heartbeat getting faster. You are nervous, Mingi" That wasn't a question, and Song sighed, knowing that if he didn't tell, it would be worse.
"Maybe I dropped the pistol in the middle of the bakery, but everything is under control." He smiled nervously and Seonghwa looked at him.
"He saw?" He questioned with cold eyes.
"What? No! Pff..." He laughed nervously.
"Mingi." Park's eyes glowed red for a few seconds, but it was enough for Mingi to tremble. "Did. He. See?" he asked slowly.
"Okay, okay, maybe, like, maybe he saw it." Park took a deep breath, not believing what he was hearing. "But it was for seconds, he must not have noticed what it really was."
"He better didn't." He said, and whistled, drawing the attention of the other three, who stopped. Once the two reached the rest of the group, Seonghwa crossed his arms. " From today onwards, we will not carry weapons when we enter the Bakery or any establishment that only has humans."
"But Seonghwa-" This time it was Yeosang who protested, but he was interrupted as soon as Seonghwa raised his hand. He had enormous power as a leader.
"Weapons attract attention, our abilities do not, they are discreet."
Mingi laughed.
"Discreet? Seonghwa, you are the least likely to say this." Park stared at him.
"At least there's no way we can let our abilities fall to the ground in the middle of a Bakery." Said back and Jongho laughed.
"Touché." Song said, making the others laugh.
"You guys understanded?" Park asked, weaving everyone's confirmation. "Okay, now we-"
He couldn't complete the speech, as he felt the back of his neck shiver. This only happened when he felt something strange. He turned in the opposite direction from where he was looking and faced the streets that followed in that direction, considering that they were on a corner.
"You good?" Yeosang asked.
"There's something going on in this street." He strained to look, but he couldn't see anything. Yeosang tried to look too, but also couldn't.
"It's bad because I can't see it, it's far away and my eyes are tired." He muttered and the Park looked at his team.
"Go home and try to rest, Mingi give me your overcoat and Yunho your mask." Both gave what was asked by the older one, and as soon as he put them on, he looked at everyone. "It must be just a group of robbers, only humans, I think I can handle it. See you guys at home."
And he continued walk down the dark and poorly lit street, leaving his friends alone on the corner.
"Huh, 'I think I can handle it', does anyone warn that bitch that he carries the team on his back?" Jongho commented, making everyone laugh.
"Let's go home." Yeosang spoke.
On the way Seonghwa put on the cap of the overcoat - closing it - and the gloves that were in the pocket, the mask was resting on the neck, and as soon as it was activated it covered Park's neck, mouth and nose, making him smile. Yeosang was skilled and outdid himself more and more with his crazycreations. A ninja-style mask that goes up to the mouth by itself and distorts the voice of the wearer. Amazing.
Meanwhile, Hongjoong tried hard to free himself the man who was pulling him by te wrist, until at one point he was slapped in the face, making him turn his face sharply. His eyes teared up and he just wanted to get out of there, he was scared, and that slap had reminded him of his father.
"If you keep resisting, things are going to get complicated, cutie." He removed a pistol from his belt, pressing it against Hongjoong's waist, who let a few tears fall from his terrified eyes, but even so, he did not hesitate and looked into the man's eyes.
"Please, let go of me." The man got stressed and started dragging Hongjoong to where the meeting point would be for who knows what, he just heard the man talking on a radio that they could already bring Van. Then they would be kidnapped!? His fear multiplied and he was practically sobbing. "Please! Let me go!" He begged, soon a black and armored Van appeared. Two men got out of it, the driver and the one inside, the one who started handing out weapons to the others, already holding a machine gun. Hongjoong was terrified, and it got worse when he started to be dragged again, this time towards Van. "Let me go!" He screamed, trying to get rid of the unknown man and when he went to answer Hongjoong, a voice interrupted him.
"Gentlemen."
The group turned to the voice. They watched a tall man, all in black and masked, appear behind the group of kidnappers. His voice was low and deep, it sounded like something computerized, but even so, his presence was a little – a lot – threatening, especially to the kidnappers. After all, Park Seonghwa knew how to make people get terrified whenever he wanted to. "Apparently this boy doesn't want to go with you, so could you guys please let him go?" he asked calmly.
His aura made the others a little scared, but they pretended not to be shaken, after all they were armed. What was stronger than a gun? Nothing!
Well, so they thought.
"Are you like a night vigilant?" The one holding Hongjoong mocked.
"You could say yes." He took steps forward, but one of the men put the machine gun barrel against his chest, making him stop, but behind the mask he was smiling. "Gentlemen, I am trying to resolve this peacefully." He crossed his hands behind his back. "But if you don't release the boy, things could get ugly for you." Again they laughed, which also caused a laugh in the taller one.
"Typical superhero phrase, but this isn't a comic book, kid. Go back home and don't meddle where you don't belong." Seonghwa laughed.
"I'm going to ask you to release him again, my patience is running out." He said, but his voice remained in the same serene tone, as if he was mocking te others. And the act angered the man holding Hongjoong.
"Elias, take care of this brat." He ordered, pulling Kim towards the Van again, who started screaming and trying to resist again. Park sighed, seeing Elias point the machine gun at his face, but in a heartbeatand, with just a leg movement, the armed man fell to the ground, and his machine gun was in Seonghwa's hand. Finding the noise strange, the kidnappers turned back, finding Seonghwa simply breaking the gun in half, using his hands.
"I'll ask one last time." He threw what was left of the gun at the unconscious boy on the ground, after all he had hit his head. "Let. Him. Go.” The man snarled.
"Get rid of this bastard." Everyone drew their weapons, pointing at Seonghwa, who rolled his eyes.
"It's amazing how mortals always prefer the hard way." The shooting started, but no bullet even touched Park, as he deftly dodged – and perhaps inhumanly – and kicked the first three men who were in line, leaving only three left, there were 7 in total and four were already on the ground . The one holding back Hongjoong at first came forward with a knife, trying to hit Park at all costs at all times, but failed miserably. Park just landed a punch on the man's neck, leaving him suffocating for a few seconds, and then received a kick in the lower parts, falling to the side as he agonized. The tall brunette calmly started walking towards Kim and the two that were left.
"Kill him, John! What are you waiting for?" The one holding Hongjoong said to the other one beside him, who grabbed a pistol from his waist and fired, but as if it was nothing, Seonghwa held the bullet inches from his face, and crushed it between his fingers. Discredited and with his pride poked, that John advanced in a one-on-one fight, being knocked out with a perfect kick to his back, to which Park simply dodged a punch and ended up behind him.
"Now it's your turn." He said, looking at the last Man standing, who now looked terrified of the Park.
"What the hell are you?" he asked terrified.
"Just a boy playing night vigilant who thinks life is like a comic book." He mocked, and again the man's pride was hurt, which made him let go of Hongjoong and draw a gun, but when he went to pull the trigger, he seemed to be stuck. Seonghwa was staring at the gun intently, and smiled when the man, startled, threw it to the ground. And as a last hope, he grabbed Hongjoong's neck and got behind him.
"One more step and I'll break his neck!" Threatened, and once again Hongjoong begged for mercy.
"You don't know who you're messing with." He smiled, but this time he was more irritated. "I will ask for the last time." He clenched his fists. "Release the boy." And seeing that his request would not be granted, he looked into the baker's eyes. "Please close your eyes for a few seconds."
Not having much to do, Hongjoong complied with the request, and shouted as soon as he felt a wind blow through him. When he looked back, the man was on the wall, in agony of pain as he clutched his abdomen. Seonghwa was standing still, looking at the man and without looking at Kim he said.
"If you don't like to see blood or witness acts of violence, turn around, close your eyes. If you want, cover your ears too." Hongjoong did it again, except for the ear plugging part. He was curious enough to want to hear everything.
"I know this could just be a random kidnapping or maybe you were going to take this boy to prostitute himself somewhere." Hongjoong shivered, he didn't know who that man was, but he owed him his life. It had never crossed his mind that it might one day happen here with him. "But you were all armed, you showed up with an armored van and look, you only kidnapped this young man." Seonghwa crouched down in front of the man. "So tell me, Smith ." The man's eyes widened, he hadn't said his name. "Who do you work for?"
"Die, you little shit." He spat next to the foot of the taller one, who sighed.
Park picked up a stray pistol on the floor and pulled the man towards him, turning him onto his back and pressing the barrel of the gun into the other's back.
"That gun is pressed to such a point that if I shoot it, you won't die, but you'll agonize for days and run the risk of becoming a quadriplegic, and if you're already a useless pig having your muscles moving normally, imagine without moving them. Although quadriplegics, paraplegics and etcetera are extremely capable even with limited movements. But you can become completely useless." He growled. "So, in order to spare you your shitty miserable life, I hope to get an answer." He unlocked it, proving that what he said, he would soon do."Now speak! Who do you work for?" He scolded, and the man grabbed Park's shoulders.
"I don't know who ordered all this, I swear!" He despaired. "My men and I used to work with exactly that, kidnapping people for prostitution, we stopped a while ago and now we focus on drug and weapons trafficking. But we received a proposal in exchange for money."
"What proposal?" He questioned coldly.
"Of kidnapping this boy." He said it short, which irritated Park.
"For what?" He raged.
"I don't know! I swear I don't know!" He whimpered, desperate. "They only mentioned a name, nothing more."
"And what was it?" he asked.
"Olga." Park's heart skipped a beat. "They said that we were temporarily serving Olga, and that we would be rewarded for that. And that this boy was the key to getting to the leader of their enemy."
"Who?"
" They did not name names, but said that this boy was the king's jewel of such a group called Shakal and that without the jewel the crown collapses." Seonghwa's eyes were cold, but inside he was shaking. "I have no idea what that means, but we would be well paid and we accepted the proposal." He sighed. "I've said everything I know, now please let me go!" Park took the gun from the man's back.
"It was unloaded." He said about the pistol, smiling when he saw the man's incredulous face. "Now I hope that you and your group stop getting involved with this type of proposal, or rather, that you stop doing this dirty work that you do. If I hear of a move about you, you won't last a day in my hand." He threw the pistol on the ground, turning his back on the man. "Have a good night."
He pushed himself away from the wall and came closer to the tallest. That boy was skilled, why was he wasting his time being a night vigilant when he could make a living being an unstoppable criminal?
"I don't understand-"
Seonghwa laughed, interrupting him.
"I would never waste my time being a criminal." The man widened his eyes. "Now get out of my sight." He turned around again.
"But why did you care so much about protecting this particular boy? He would be just another whore in the hands of this gang, he is insignificant and would not be needed-"
The tallest patience had been tested. With the help of his foot he lifted a machine gun that was resting on the ground beside him, and when he caught it in the air and had it in his hands, he aimed at the man's head. And that gun wasn't unloaded. Hongjoong heard only one last shot, trembling with fear, and he screamed when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, but he calmed down when he turned around and saw that it was his savior
"Look, I don't even know how to thank you-" He started, but was interrupted.
"I know you'll find this all strange, but I need you to come with me, Hongjoong. You are in great danger and you must come with me." He intensified the 'you must', showing Kim that it was really necessary, but he was not convinced.
"What? Are you crazy? Look, I know you just saved my life and I'm immensely grateful, you have no idea. But you just killed a man, knocked out six others without effort, it's a masked guy all in black wandering the street at nine o'clock at night, I don't even know who you are, much less how you know my name. So I'm sorry but I'm not going with you." He passed the taller one, who sighed and took off his mask, pulling Hongjoong towards him again. This one was ready to complain, or maybe start screaming, when he saw who his real hero was. "S-seonghwa?"
"Look, I know that I'm probably not trustworthy right now and you probably want to punch me in the face to see if I get off your back for good and get out of your face, but it won't be like that. As I said you are in danger and part of that is my fault so you are now my responsibility and I expect you to cooperate by coming with me." He raised his hand, but Hongjoong glared at him.
"Why do you expect me to trust you? You lied to me!" He was really feeling betrayed.
"Okay, lend me your lucky knife." Hongjoong frowned. He couldn't remember ever mentioning the knife in his stories.
"How do you know-"
"Just lend it to me." He interrupted, and after taking the knife out of his bag, and gently unwrapping the cloth, Hongjoong gave it to Park, still uncertain.
"Take care of it, in God's name." He asked and Park smiled.
"I will." Then he pressed the blade into the palm of his own hand and simply pulled, opening a huge gash in his hand. Hongjoong screamed and covered his mouth with his hands in terror.
"Are you crazy!?" he asked, but his orbs widened further - if that was possible - as he witnessed with his own eyes Park's skin heal before him. The blood that flowed dried up, the wound closed and the scar didn't even stay for long. It was as if that wound had never existed. "H-how did you do it?"
"This is a common and mundane knife, doesn't do me much damage." After cleaning it, he returned it to the bag, as Hongjoong was too shocked to do that by himself.
Seriously, he had just seen a wound regenerating in front of him.
"Now this one." He took out a knife, which looked more like a dagger, and showed it to Hongjoong. "It's a blade of Zefair."
"Blade of what?" he asked confused.
The dagger had a red varnished blade, the hilt was dark green with some golden details.
"I'll explain later, but this is the only blade capable of hurting me." He made the same cut on his hand, grunting. And this time the cut didn't close.
"You are crazy!" He despaired, taking a band-aid from his wallet and trying to place it over the cut. "Stop doing that, you crazy man." He passed his hand over it, and didn't even notice Park's smile.
"And to prove that I don't want to hurt you and you're not in danger with me, it stays with you until you believe that I'm not here to hurt you." the Kim had the dagger placed in his hands, and looked a bit lost at Seonghwa. "Now do you agree to come with me? I promise that as soon as we arrive I'll clarify everything."
Not having much to do, he nodded, still a little reluctantly. He put the dagger in his bag and followd the Park, who got into the Van and took advantage of the key that was already there to start the car, then started it.
"Where are we going anyway?" He questioned, noticing Park's corner smile.
"To my crossfit gym." Kim was confused by the answer, but he just kept himself quiet and without questioning. Soon they arrived at that academy, which had a large black gate, which was apparently locked. From the corner he noticed Park pulling up the sleeve of his left blouse, revealing a completely black bracelet, and that when he touched it, several futuristic style configurations appeared, and with a few clicks the big gate soon opened and Seonghwa entered with the Van. And inside Kim was able to see all of Park's friends, each one doing something.
As soon as the Van entered, Mingi stopped what he was doing - which consisted of turning a truck tire to train his arms - and frowned, but Yeosang spoke up.
"There's only one person who can enter here like this, without asking someone or ringing the bell." He shrugged.
The Van's windows were completely tinted, making it impossible to see whatever was inside, but his doubts were cleared as soon as Park got out of the car.
"How was it there?" Yunho asked.
"Nothing much, just some guys trying to kidnap a boy." He shrugged.
"Is he okay? Is he hurt? Hyung, you know that this kidnapping business generates injuries, and helping the injured is my specialty." Jongho complained, getting up from the sofa where he was and turning off the old television in front of him, and then went to his boyfriend's lap, who previously played chess with Yunho.
"The only ones injured were the kidnappers, in fact I left them lying there. There were seven, the leader is dead, the others will wake up but they won't remember anything. By the way I stole their Van." He replied calmly.
"For who said he 'thought' he could handle it alone." Mingi commented, smiling, which encouraged Park to do the same.
"Is the boy okay? Did you take him home?" Yeosang asked, and after Choi got up from his lap he did the same.
"So that's what I wanted to talk about." He turned to the car and Hongjoong saw him from inside, and with the older's nod, he opened the car door, getting out. Jongho simply shouted and hugged him, saying he missed him - even though they had seen each other not more than an hour ago - and on the other hand, Kang didn't seem to like the fact that the Kim was there.
"What did he come here for?" He questioned.
"He is being chased." He justified, even if he didn't say everything, he was soon interrupted.
"Seonghwa, are ya' nuts?" Mingi ask, joining in. "Bringing here a boy who is being chased? Like, we know ya' are into him and stuff, but we don't get involved with human problems, our protection goes beyond that." He spoke the last two parts in a lower tone.
"I never thought I would say this, but Mingi is right." Yeosang spoke. "What if he discovers something about us and spreads it around?"
"You know as well as I do that I would never bring anyone here unless it was extremely urgent." He tried to speak, but again he was interrupted.
"And since when is saving your crush from lousy kidnappers an extreme urgency?" Yunho got into the subject.
"Since the lousy kidnappers were going to kidnap Joong at Olga's behest." And then a dead silence was born in the middle of that whole space, and the first one to have the courage to break it was Park himself. "They were being paid to kidnap him."
"Why?" Yeosang questioned the elder.
"They thought he is the partner of the Shakal's leader." Again the eyes widened and the moment became tense.
That is, if it weren't for Mingi and his bad habit of opening his mouth at inopportune moments.
"Huh? But you're Shakal's boss." Yunho tapped his forehead, what kind of neurons inhabited Song's mind? He would like to know.
"Exactly, Min. One of their informants must have seen me the first day in the Bakery and again today, so they notified Olga's leader."
"But that damn gang doesn't exist anymore about what? 100 years?" Confused, that was Kang Yeosang's state.
"They must be rebuilding the gang, like a new generation." He sighed. "And that is not good."
"Um, sorry to interrupt but I'm here for answers." Hongjoong intervened, attracting the gazes of the four who were talking to each other before. Park glared at Yeosang, looking for some disapproval, but what he got was a shake of the head.
"He deserves to know everything that's going on. Whether or not, he is part of it now." He sighed.
Soon Hongjoong was sitting on the sofa where Jongho used to watch some soap opera. Seonghwa was sitting on the coffee table and watched the shorter one for seconds, before taking a deep breath and starting.
"Some humans believe that there is life beyond the earth, creatures that are not human and among many other things. And well, most of these beliefs are correct." He sighed. "You must have heard about Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies and things like that."
"I'm not very fond of stories about magical creatures, so I don't know very well what they are like." Justified, a little lost in why that subject had started like this.
"Right." Park said. "So let's start right." He sighed. "Both me and my friends are not part of this world or this solar system. We come from a planet called Suron. There are no humans originally there, but several different races, from Vampires to fish men."
Hongjoong didn't want to believe it, but the episode with Seonghwa's hand had left him so scared to the point of not thinking that it was an outbreak or that Park was just a madman who escaped from a psychiatric hospital.
"Here on Earth, human beings only use 11% of their mental capacity, in Suron we use 100%, which gives us the key to unusual abilities. Like for example... Mingi is strong and tough like a rock." The same was demonstrated by simply lifting the side of the Van with one arm." Jongho has the gift of healing." The youngest held Seonghwa's hand and placed his similar one over the cut, and as soon as they removed the band-aid, the cut was completely healed." Yunho is shapeshifter, he can become both people and animals." And Hongjoong almost fainted when the boy with blue hair got down on all fours on the ground, writhing and becoming totally deformed until he turned into a tiger. Okay, there was a blue-furred tiger in front of him, and Hongjoong was terrified, but at the same time delighted. Soon Jeong returned to normal. " Yeosang has the gift of Vision. He can see everything he want if it were within a radius of 400 meters, see through and into what he want and from where he want." Kang watched Hongjoong intensely, who instinctively covered his nether regions, eliciting a laugh from him.
"I'm wondering why you have a cake knife in your purse and..." He frowned. "A playboy magazine?" Hongjoong's face heated up and he remembered that he had recently gone out with Wooyoung, he bought the magazine and asked Hongjoong to keep it, but ended up forgetting it with him. "It has other people's fingerprints on it besides yours." He raised an eyebrow." I suppose it's not yours."
"This is my friend's business, can we get back to the subject?" He asked, and was soon granted.
"And finally, I am Telekinetic and Telepath." He raised his hand and Hongjoong looked down, seeing that the sofa he was on was no longer touching the floor, but it was soon put back down.
"But the fool doesn't use telepathy." Jongho said, and Kim became curious.
"It's a bit impolite to go around seeing everything that goes on in people's minds." Justified, and Hongjoong found him extremely cute because of it. "Besides, I only see the basics, which is people's intentions, I'm still not good at exploring minds as a whole."
"Because you don't train for it." Yeosang muttered.
"This is not about me, let's move on." He sighed. "The five of us have one thing in common. We are Siektus." Hongjoong looked confused.
"What the hell is that?"
"In Suron there are several races, as I already said. The main ones are Vampires, Siektus, Fairies, Farweyis, Hydras and Sirens. The rest is irrelevant for now. Let's start." He took a breath. "Vampires. Basically they are the 'immortal' beings that need blood to survive. They are bloodthirsty beasts and are always hunting for new victims, to devour or to transform into Vampires, a few years ago the initial plan of this race was to use this army of Vampires to dominate the planet Suron and all the others that were within its reach. The most famous and dangerous gang is Olga. The name is a tribute to the first Vampire to start this whole race war, Olga Hatfield. She was a Vampire who was blinded by power and wanted to dominate the worlds, but where there is evil, there is automatically good, so other races would stop her before she could. The Place of Origin of Vampires is Atahala." Hongjoong nodded, he was beginning to understand. "We are the Siektus. Basically Vampires too, but modified." Kim was relieved when he heard the last part. "In fact, we are the children and grandchildren of the generation that began the modification in their compositions and structures, named Vampires-Modified. It is still necessary for us to drink blood in extreme cases, but human food sustains us, after all we are almost human. However, the Vampire part still stands out, and to replace the blood something else was needed: Sugar.
"So that's why you fell in love with my sweets?" They nodded. "Okay, I didn't expect that one."
"We're practically vampire ants. The strongest gang is Shakal, led by Park Shakal's great-grandson. Well, me." The shock was visible in the human's expression. "We are a kind of gang of vigilants and protectors of the human world, we face the Vampires and other creatures of Suron present in the land and protect it from future threats. Our place of origin is Iohala."
He stretched his fingers.
"Hydras are basically siren-vampires. Sirens are the typical ones that make you bewitched to drown or devour you, after pulling you to the bottom of the sea . Vampire Sirens, the so-called Hydras, do not have a tail and do not look like an aquatic creature. But they can breathe underwater, and they sustain themselves with meat, a lot of meat, and blood in some cases. Hydras with spare human parts tend to survive on sea food. They can be easily confused by Vampires when not done a blood test, after all they have practically similar appearances and habits. The easiest, but at the same time difficult to execute, way to tell a Hydra from a Vampire is on the basis of suffocation."
The baker's eyes widened. What kind of brutality was that?
"A Vampire will try to get rid of what suffocates they, a Hydra, even if it doesn't have the appearance of a mermaid or any other fixed physical characteristic, will open gills on its neck to breathe while its other airways are covered. There are no gangs of this race and the place of origin is The Lost Kingdom of Atlantis."
It was a name to be expected, but for Hongjoong, it was beautiful nonetheless.
"The Fairies." Seonghwa continued. "The common ones have a maximum of 15 centimeters and are filled with various colors for their tiny bodies. They take care of the magical gardens of the kingdoms they live in, they have small wings that make them fly quickly, like small jets, and each one has a different magic, but they never use them, after all, they don't leave their own kingdom. When a fairy leaves the Fairy-Island, she can never return without the queen calling her or allowing her, in cases of extreme urgency. There are two kinds of fairies, the second are called Yuan Fairies or Farweyis. They are half-fairy and half-human, Half-fairy so to speak. They are born with gifts, but... How can I say? Different gifts. For example, a Farweyi is born with the gift of drawing, and her fairy part makes her drawings passionate to human eyes, they are perfection, there is no one to dislike, well, there are, but in few cases. Farweyis cannot live on Fairy-Island, so they normally live in Zefair, land of Semi-mystical creatures. However, some live among humans and others are not even aware of their fairy blood. There has never been a male faerie, either a common faerie or a Farweyi are communities composed only of female faeries, but you never know. Farweyis may have wings, but instead of being thin and shiny, like glass, they are usually wings like angels, only each one has a tan on the tip of the feathers of a different color." Hongjoong smiled, truly delighted. "There is a single gang of that race, with some common Faeries and some Farweyis. It is known as FarGal, led by the first Farweyi fairy in history. Kim Wheein. The homeland of Fairies is The Fairy-Island. As for the Farweyis, it is Zefair."
"Okay, I think I understand all that now. But I still don't understand the kingdom thing. Why do Atahala and Iohala have similar names?" Kim questioned, his eyes brimming with curiosity, leaving him looking like a child wanting to know if the princess would stay with the prince at the end of the story.
"Okay, I'll explain the story of each one. Starting with those you mentioned." He scratched his throat, starting. "Atahala and Iohala in the past were two kingdoms together, only one land, which was called Hala. It was the land of various mystical and supernatural creatures, who lived in safety and harmony. But, after the first war between mystical beings, starting from the Will of the Vampires to reign over the world, the supernatural beings that enter against the war united their powers to separate the kingdoms, dividing them with a huge ditch, which over the years turned into a river.
The river, which would later be called the Ataio River, was immense, both in length and width, and to cross to the other side in the ordinary way, using a boat, was a journey of several days. Seeing that the Vampires would cross the river easily, the king of the eastern land, Iohala, used his last drops of power to create a barrier around the island, leaving it invisible, as if it had ceased to exist. After doing his last act, King Jun-io fell ill and died within days. His people, left stranded by the death of the sweet king, decided to name the island east of Iohala, in honor of the king.
Atahala, on the other hand, gained the name by decision of Olga, who was the commander of that entire war. After all, in the ancient Vampyae language "Ata" meant Kings, and "Hala" meant Land of all. Putting the names together then, Atahala was the land of all kings, with a greedy and self-centered thought that Vampires were the strongest and superior among the other existing races." The human nodded, understanding. "To honor King Jun-io, who died trying to keep peace between the lands, the tiny group of Vampires who decided to side with good and went to live in Iohala during the separation of lands, began modifications to their genetics. Becoming what nowadays is called Siektus, which is us.
After the Second War between mystical beings, the first Vampire to become a Siektus, Park Shakal, my grandmother, took great pleasure in driving a blade made of fairy blood, which would later be called Blade of Zefair, into the heart of Olga, killing her. Without a leader to follow, the Vampires began traveling to other worlds, looking for a new boss, and well, they were unsuccessful. Until they found a place that had no mystical guardians: the Planet Earth. However, they did not know that the grandchildren of Shakal and the other first Siektus, our fathers, had already settled there to protect the land, at the behest of the matriarch of the Siektus, who unfortunately died in the same way as King Jun-io, with the disease called Mystical Fever.
This one that is normally the work of an Atahala Sorceress, fortunately extinct, using the only thing that can kill a mystical being: Scarlet Sunflower Poison, a plant that can only be found in the Fairy-Island. A disease that sucks your powers little by little, killing you from the inside out until only a lifeless body remains. In addition to the presence of the group that would later be called the Shakal Gang, our gang, some Hydras live here on earth and every 20 years the earth receives visits from the FarGal gang, who patrol around here in search of new Farweyis or great threats to the human race. After all, over the years, the FarGals would develop enviable combat skills."
"That is, are there other creatures here on earth besides you?" Kim asked.
"Yes." Seonghwa smiled. "More than you might think."
"But not everyone is as good as us." Yeosang pointed out.
"Yeosang, do you want to tell the story of the mermaid kingdom?" Park turned to his friend. "You remember better than I do." Kang nodded and looked at Hongjoong.
"The Lost Kingdom of Atlantis does not have such a drastic history as the previous one. Just the fact that it's a kingdom hidden entirely under the sea makes it different, but that wasn't always the case. Atlantis was once a near-surface kingdom teeming with life and various mystical aquatic beings. The change came in the first mystical war, since they were blinded by the desire to reign and increase their own race, the Vampires reproduced with the Sirens, hoping that more Vampires would appear in the world, and when the more grown they got, the Vampires realized that the born of Hydras it wasn't quite what they expected.
After all, they noticed that they were creatures that didn't have the bloodlust that a Vampire possessed, and what was the point of having a half-Vampire child who didn't look like a Vampire, in the animalistic sense of that term? Desiring to undo the mistake, the Vampires began to kill any existing Hydra in Atlantis, these began to run awa from the kingdom so that their race would not be extinct for good. Some went to Iohala and others found ways to escape to other worlds, and with that, to take out their frustration, the Vampires began to make the other aquatic races of Atlantis extinct, except Sirens, since in human form they were great means of satiating carnal desires.
And with that, the Sirens themselves fled, asking for help from the beings of Iohala, who were willing to create a new Atlantis. One that was so deep in the sea that submarines couldn't reach it, one that no radar could spot. And it was in the Atlantic Ocean, on planet Earth, that the beings of Iohala helped build The Lost Kingdom of Atlantis. After helping, each creature returned to their world, and that's when Shakal realized that that planet was unprotected and soon she would have to find a way to protect it. That's when we, her grandchildren, came to her mind, and nothing was more perfect for fighting a Vampire than the strongest generation of Siektus.
"Sirens have a sadder history." The Kim said, and Yeosang nodded. "It's a pity, from what they described they seemed so peaceful.
"Do not fool yourself." He heard Park's voice and found the reaction strange. "Sirens are not as reliable and good as they seem, and neither are Fairies".
"But... Are they good?" I was really confused. Had his childhood with fairy-related books been the purest lie?
"Let's say that people control their stories a lot, and they are not 100% good." Hongjoong pouted. "At least not the pure-Fairy. Yeosang, you may proceed."
"Right." He assented. "Fairy-Island has always been so exclusive to a single race that it could not be located by other beings who had not already lived there or had fairy blood. And even if they found the island, the diverse flowers present there had a life of their own and attacked any other being that was not a plant, animal or fairy. The island was surrounded by countless trees, they were the wall of the island. The plants were after the magic trees, monstrous trees of different species, with the power to sense the aura of anyone who walked among them. In case you ever go to Fairy-Island with bad intentions, I'm sorry to say, but you don't get beyond the wall of trees."
Yeosang's voice turned dark as he uttered the last sentence, and the redhead gulped in fright.
"The island holds various species of flowers, trees and plants. Most are of magical composition, and the most sought after are: The six-leaf clover, for having healing properties and being a great remedy for any type of illness; The Scarlet Sunflower, for being the only plant whose poison can kill any mystical being considered immortal; The Ectaria, a tree with huge roots that instead of having fruits on its branches, has small blue pearls called Ectas, which allow you to create interdimensional portals when they are broken; And especially the giant crystal Gardenia. The flower was the source of life on the island, the one that keeps the plants alive - beyond the care of the Fairies - and has a legend, that if you had at least a piece of crystal petals, you would have eternal life and nothing, not even no one, nor any poison could kill you, making you immortal.
That is why the flower and the island were so protected with teeth and claws, or rather with thorns and roots. And well, the distrust began when the island still received visits from other creatures and was not so strict. A fairy named Zeth went to the mundane world, took on mortal form, and fell in love with a human. When he had a beautiful daughter, Zeth took her to see Fairy-Island, but the girl fell ill because of one of the plants that expelled poison for self-defense, and when it found that the kid was not a fairy, nor a plant, nor animal, it did what it's nature commanded. Willing to save the life of her firstborn, Zeth took one of the petals of the giant crystal Gardenia to make tea and save her daughter from final death. But the fairies accused her of stealing and trying to kill the island, expelling her from there after taking the petal from her, judging her that contact with humans had made her a Thief and took away her fairy essence.
Her daughter died after a few days and Zeth fell ill with grief. With that all the half-human fairies felt their sadness and abandoned the island, angry at the petty Fairies that inhabited it, soon founding the island itself for fairies and all half-human beings to inhabit in case they were judged. That's where Zefair was born. An island that was called Fairy-Island Zeth, which would later be called Zefair. It was a large island full of mountains, where any and all creatures could live in peace, especially the demi-humans. The island was led by the fairy Zeth, who, still without overcoming the death of her daughter, died of illness. Soon after her the command went to Jung Wheein, the first half-human fairy, who decided that the new race would be named Farweyis, in honor of the late daughter of the fairy queen Zeth, Princess Haweyi. Unlike Haweyi, Wheein had inherited fairy blood. In this, the Farweyis realized that many other worlds needed the protective heart of a fairy mixed with the courage of a human, so they soon founded several gangs to roam the worlds doing patrols for them.
And when they discovered that Zefair was an island where the mountains had countless interdimensional portals, it was as if they had won the lottery. Soon it wasn't difficult for the patrols to start, with time some were killed by bad supernatural beings and others disappeared in the worlds, with no way to return, and the most resistant gang among them was Queen Wheein's, the FarGal gang, which was also the only gang brave enough to patrol planet Earth. Considered a planet where people were worse and more dangerous than the villainous creatures of their current world. However, they also discovered that other bad creatures were hiding in the shadows of several worlds, among them one of the most dangerous races: Vampires. Willing to fight them if necessary, each Farweyis gave a portion of blood to the witches who lived in Zefair, so that the only blade capable of killing a Vampire could be shaped. The faerie blood blade, which would later be known as The Blade of Zefair.
"This blade is the one from the dagger I gave you." Park smiled.
"You gave a Blade of Zefair to a human?" Yeosang widened his eyes." Come on, Seonghwa, what's gotten into you, huh? I'm not understanding you."
"It was for reasons that I don't owe satisfaction to and you know that I don't do things without purpose." He got up.
"But it looks like it." Kang countered.
"Okay, forgetting about that subject for now." He turned to the baker. "You'll have to sleep here."
"What? But why?"
"Friend, do you still not understand?" Jongho asked. "You are being hunted by Vampires."
And he widened his eyes.
"How is it?! That part no one told me!" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
"In summary, the Olga gang, the one that was extinct, seems to be rebuilding itself, and this gang is an enemy of Shakal, our gang. For some reason they think you are a partner of the leader of Shakal and want to get you to hit us." Jongho tried to summarize as much as possible, but Hongjoong could only stammer.
"Leader? Partner? What are you talking about?"
"Oh boy, you stress me out." Yunho spoke. "They think you're with Seonghwa, that you're his alpha's omega, that you are a couple, that the two make out, cute date and wild fuck, that's why they want to kidnap you and hurt you to see if that's how they reach their goal. Seonghwa-hyung." the Jeong was totally outspoken, and that made both Seonghwa and the baker turn red in the cheeks.
"You are a snake." Yeosang laughed.
"I try." He shrugged.
"But then, do you agree to sleep here?" Park asked again.
"I don't think I have much of a choice." Hongjoong laughed awkwardly.
"Right. You must be tired, I'll accompany you to your room." He smiled small, and they went to the academy stairs, with the oldest trying to ignore the suggestive looks that he knew his friends were giving him. As soon as they entered the room, Hongjoong let himself take a deep breath. "Well, the brown door is the closet and the white one is the bathroom." He indicated the two, each on one side of the room, which had a huge Kingsize bed. "There are pajamas in the closet if you need them, this is Jongho's room and you are the same height so I think it will fit you. And don't worry, we don't sleep, so Jongho won't be showing up here anytime soon. In fact, you can sleep as long as you want, if you want to go to the kitchen, just go down the stairs and turn right." He smiled and when he left, Hongjoong grabbed his wrist. "Do you need anything?"
"Your dagger." He took it out of the bag, but Seonghwa pushed it back.
"You need it more than I do." He smiled.
"Oh." He was embarrassed to get lost in the taller's smile, and with his head down he whispered. "Thank you for today, for everything."
"You're welcome." He smiled.
"Seriously, really. I don't even know how to thank you." Said.
"I know." Hongjoong looked at him. "You owe me something, and whenever I want I'll call the favor." He smirked.
"All right, that's fair." He also smiled and let go of the taller one. "Good night, Seonghwa."
"Good night Hongjoong." He closed the door and placed his palm against it. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, that's a promise." He whispered.
As soon as he went down the stairs, he realized that his friends were faster than he imagined. The TV, the sofa, the table and everything that was leisure was no longer there. Just training stuff, after all...
"Let's triple the training we already have." He said, a smile appearing on his face. The work of crossfit teachers was just a disguise, it was a way to train intensively in a good gym without raising suspicion. They had students, yes, but the classes were only in the morning on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, the rest of the days and days were focused on their personal training.
And well, they would triple what was already basically doubled.
"Do you think these tires are enough to strengthen our arms?" Yunho asked, lifting a truck tire as if it were a feather pillow.
"No, Yeosang is one of the weakest and lifts it up like a pillow.
"I heard that!" The other shouted from inside the kitchen, where he was preparing milkshakes to go with one of the cakes they had bought at Hongjoong's shop. Seonghwa just laughed.
"How 'bout this one, boss?" They heard Mingi's voice, and when they looked back, they saw the redhead passing through the gate, spinning a monster car wheel beside the body." I found it in the junkyard." He sent rolling towards Seonghwa, who stopped with his chest, but still had to take steps back and lost his breath for seconds.
If that thing made him that way then it was ideal.
"It's perfect." He smiled.
Soon they headed to their real academy, which was beyond the wall where the stairs went up. They were almost ten times bigger than the place where they trained the students, and it didn't take long for each one to start training their specialty. Mingi simply played with laying down the tire, lifting it and turning it, until he reached the other side of the wall. Yeosang trained his reflexes inside a training dome, dodging arrows, shots and the like that were fired from systems at the ends of the dome – let's just say the technology in the house was way ahead of its time. Yunho and Jongho threw themselves from side to side while fighting one-on-one on the trapeze. Yes, on the trapeze.
Meanwhile Seonghwa was smiling, sitting on a tower of weights, totaling a ton, and making it float with a lot of effort while watching his boys so committed. Smile like a proud dad, like a proud leader.
Nothing could be better than knowing that they were the ones who carried the legacy of the Shakal name, and not only did they carry it with honor.
Olga was no match for a gang like theirs. Above all, they were a family, and believe me, a difficult family to break down.
"Vampires beware." Park whispered to himself, ceasing his telekinesis, causing the weights to collide with the floor and forcibly sucking in the air. "We won't go easy." He smirked. "So, who needs a break for lunch?" He laughed when he was met with a chorus of 'yes' by the four. "You guys look like children." He shook his head, still smiling.
Yes, they weren't going to go easy.