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It did not start like that. With Jisung's hand tied behind his back as he sits in the car of the man he apparently pissed off by bombing his house. Which honestly was deserved since the motherfucker kidnapped him.
Seriously, he overreacted. Who doesn't bomb a house or two on their Tuesday. He just needed to test if his new bomb worked and well, it did. To the expense of Jisung. And the police who now had to figure out why a bomb that came out of nowhere destroyed a poor man's house.
Poor man who was not really poor since he seemed to be apart of a gang or something so he must be fancy rich. Else, why would he kidnap him ? That's not really a normal civilian behavior. Well, Jisung was a normal civilian and was probably on multiple black lists and built a bomb. Bomb that so happened to blow up his house but listen, it was cool while kidnapping him was not cool so the dude's a gangster. Unbeatable reasoning.
“Hey.”
No response.
“Heeeey.”
Still no response. Rude.
“You know you kinda kidnapped me so it would be nice if you could at least talk to me.”
No answer.
Jisung couldn't even see his face to see if he was annoying the shit out of him. He hoped he did out of sheer spite. The man wore a black mask over his mouth with a black cap and his long bang hid his eyes from the side. Jisung could only see a glimpse from the rear-view mirror.
“Do you kidnap people on a regular basis or is it like an impulse thing ?” the man started tapping the wheel “Are you gonna kill at a secret location deep in the woods where no one would find me ?”
Honestly, boring kidnapping, wouldn't recommend, 0/5 starts.
Jisung started kicking the back of the car seat in front of him because he was a nuisance like that.
“Hey, what's your name Mr. Fancy bang.” His bang was normal but it bugged him so much to not be able to see his eyes because of it that he had to give it a nickname. Understand him.
He kept kicking at the seat until the man took a sharp turn to the left, sending his head straight into the window.
“Asshole, that hurts, ” he whined until he heard a chuckle at the front of the car. “I made you laugh! Wow, that's progress. Big character development, good job.”
Ok, maybe he pushed it a bit too much and now the man wouldn't want to talk to him at all. But he had to display his natural charm to the world or it would go to waste.
“What're thinking abouuuut ?”
“Different ways to make you shut up.” the man deadpanned
“Is murder possibly on the list ?”
“Yes, at the very top of it even.”
he probably tried to scare Jisung off so he would finally shut up but Jisung instead took his small victory.
“Talk to me Mr.fancy bang” he whined “ or I'll kick your seat again.”
Mr.Fancy bang groaned and finally relented, “I feel like I'm babysitting a toddler.”
“That's an insult to toddlers, even I misbehave more than them” he smiled proudly.
“I'm regretting my decision… “ he sighed
“Why did you kidnap me ?”
“Are you seriously asking me this question ?”
“Come on, I just involuntarily bombed your house ! It could have been worse.”
“How could it have been worse ?” he shouted on his last strand of sanity. Maybe the strand was already gone now that he thought about it.
Jisung simply shrugged, “I could have bombed our local fast food.”
To his defense, Mr. Fancy bang took a few seconds before slamming his forehead to the car wheel, effectively honking and scaring the shit out of everyone who was on the road at this late hour. By the way, what time was it ?
“What time is it ?”
“I will shoot you if you don't shut your mouth.”
“Why haven't you done so yet? What are you planning to do with me? You know, it's kinda the bear minimum to tell your victim what will happen to them.”
The guy stayed quiet again so Jisung kicked his seat. He sighed and eased his
grip on the wheel.
“I won't hurt you, that's not my goal.”
“And what's gonna happen to me now…?”
“I can't tell you– and kicking the seat won't change this fact– but blowing up that house is possibly the worst idea you could have had, kid.”
“I'm not a kid, I'm a grown ass man. I bet I'm even close to your age. How old are you ?”
“Stop taking this situation so lightly! What's wrong with you? Do you have a death wish?”
Jisung won't answer this question.
Actually getting kidnapped was way more anticlimactic than he thought. There was no adrenaline pouncing through his veins ,just…boredom. Boredom because this party pooper wouldn't talk to him and fuck him for that.
Maybe if he had started to try to look for a way to escape it would have made this low grade kidnapping more entertaining but he gave up on this idea in two seconds. Not his fault, he was brave but that glare could scare the biggest baddest man. It was also the only time Jisung saw a glimpse of his eyes and they weren't that big of a deal. Making this bang the more annoying cause what the hell was it hiding if there wasn't much to hide to begin with ?
the man sighed, “Stop glaring.”
“I'm not glaring, I'm looking respectfully.”
“Then stop looking respectfully.”
“I will if you give me your name. You don't wanna get called Mr. fancy bang forever.”
The man scoffed. He scoffed, can you believe it ? “So you can report me to the police ? Never happening.”
“Ok, Mr.fancy bang.”
“But you don't have-”
“Of course, Mr.fancy bang.”
One of Jisung's many talents was to annoy the world around him. Which might have been one of the reason why he didn't have many or any friends. That combined with the bomb that made everyone keep a bus-length distance between them and him once they learnt about it.
So, he would run this man's patience short until he either gets a name or a bullet through his skull. It took only 3 mins for the kidnapper to stop talking to him all together then 30 other minutes to get a sigh out of him. Jisung learnt that a sigh was a good sign for him.
“Lee Know, you can call me Lee Know if you want but nothing else.”
“The name's Jisung but I think you already know. Oh, that's why your name is Lee Know, you know everything.”
“I don't know everything.” he sighed clearly exasperated
“Do you know my birthday ?” no answer, “My parents names ?” Still no answer. Will he have to kick his seat again ? “My friends' names ?”
“You don't have friends.”
“I do, I have my friend Felix and there is also Hyunjin...”
Lee Know clicked his tongue and suddenly parked the car on the side of the road. He got out and went to the car boot to take whatever the hell he needed all of the sudden while Jisung was explaining his incredible heartwarming friendships. That was rude. Did his friends bother him so much or was it the fact that he was wrong for once.
Lee Know yanked the door open and that's when Jisung noticed the tape in his hand. Oh-oh, his speaking right is gonna get taken away really soon. Lee Know stuck the scotch to his mouth and made extra sure the tape was fixed correctly. Then he violently grabbed Jisung's cheeks with one hand.
“I know God damn well that you don't have friends. That Felix guys was just a random guy in high school who had a very close birthday to yours. Hyunjin is your coworker who ate lunch with you only once out of pity. You've barely or never interacted.”
Jisung felt tears prickle in his eyes. Wow, that sting. Maybe blinking would make things better ? Oh, now his vision was all blurry. Great. Brilliant. Amazing. He hated crying. Now, Lee Know was gonna call him a cry baby adding it to the top of being a lying loser with no friend and a weird bomb obsession. Which, honestly fair. What kind of dude worked in some shitty restaurant where the boss didn't even remember employing him just to gain enough money to build another experimental bomb more than to pay the bill. Gosh, he was probably so late on his rant.
His life was really miserable actually, wasn't it ?
“Fuck I didn't think you would actually cry.” Lee Know frantically looked at every parcel of his face, that probably was morphed into an ugly crying mess then sighed, “If I buy you food will you stop crying…?”
Huh ?
Did he… Did he take him for a child that cried in the supermarket until their mother bought them their favorite toy ? He knew he was probably younger but not by a lot, he wasn't a baby either to him. He was a big man. It hurt his pride. Just out of spite he was gonna cry harder, which honestly , bad idea considering he had a tape over his mouth and he choked on his breath.
Lee Know panickedly yanked the tape off his mouth. Couldn’t he pull it more softly, his skin was sensitive. But, since he was choking to his death and just got his ass saved he ought to have the utmost appropriate response.
“What the fuck, man ? That hurts !”
“Are you dumb ?” Jisung could sense in his tone that it was a genuine question, which, once again, rude. He was very clever,he just lacked some self-preservation skills but it wasn't a big deal.
“To your information, I'm very intelligent. I even know words like ultracrepidarian.” he said far too proudly for his own good.
“Oh, and what does that mean, huh ?”
Ok, so, believe him he totally knew what that meant. It wasn't just a quick research he made to piss off a guy online who claimed he only knew “toddler words”. But at that instance he might or might not have forgotten the meaning of this very intricate word that he totally knew how to spell at least.
“Right, you're as brainless as I thought.”
“Well, would a dumb person know how to build a bomb, huh?”
Maybe reminding him that he was the reason his house had blown up was a bad idea but understand him, he had a point to prove. And it was totally worth the tape placed back onto his mouth as well as around his thighs and knees to avoid him kicking the seats again. He didn't really fancy kneeling for many hours though.
So as soon as Lee Know got back in his seat and started driving again he whined and made as much noise as possible until he annoyed him enough to take off the tape from his mouth. Unfortunately, Lee Know seemed to have a golden medal at not giving a shit and just hummed to the song playing on the radio. Jisung was a nuisance for 30mins, then his throat was dry and he just gave up and banged his head on the headrest. That seemed to annoy Lee Know despite everything.
The thing is that he did that at night when the visibility was at its worst and Lee Know's head kept going back and forth, being pushed off the headrest caused him to not notice the car that was driving right in front of them at a much too slow pace on a highway. When Lee Know noticed panic flashed in his eyes and he had just the time to brake at full force almost stopping the car completely.
The next thing that happened was quite funny. You see, the car indeed did not stop and was going really slowly now on the highway but when Lee Know tried changing speed before a car crashed into
their car…
“The clutch pedal is broken,” he simply said.
Jisung wanted to ask if he knew how to repair it but his mouth was covered by a giant unnecessary and very uncool tape that ruined his day. So, he just stared at Lee Know with his best doe eyes hoping that he would notice and take pity on him.
Lee Know stopped the car and pressed the hazard lights and fell back in seat, letting out a mountain long sigh. Must be tiring to kidnap people. Especially Jisung,he proudly said so himself.
Jisung watched as the car drove past them with boredom in his eyes. How long have they been on the road ? Must have been a little while since it was night at the moment. He was hungry since he hadn't eaten since lunch. His stomach growled and he heard Lee Know let out another sigh before the man turned around.
“I'm gonna have to call for a tow truck. I'm gonna free you but if you try to run away I'll break your legs so you can be sure to never attempt to do that ever again. Go it ?”
Jisung jerked his head just wanting to be able to speak again so he could demand his food. What? Escape? What was the use of that? He held his legs dear and had his priorities straight. Priority that so happened to be filling his stomach full.
Lee Know untaped his mouth and Jisung could feel himself revive. He let out a sigh of relief so beautiful that it must have made Lee Know jelly and insecure about his own lame sighs from earlier.
“I did not take the tape off for you to start moaning.”
“What ? It's not like it's gonna turn you on or something, I just sighed. Can't I be happy to finally breathe freely ?”
Lee Know's ears turned red and he slammed his head on the wheel. Again. Was this his favorite thing to do ? Maybe it was therapeutic. Jisung should try this the next time he had a wheel in front of him.
Lee Know called for a tow truck and glared at Jisung the entire time. If he wanted him quiet, he should have just left the tape on. And he was the dumbass in this car apparently. His dear kidnapper ended the call and got out of the car before going to the backseat to cut off the tapes around Jisung's thighs and wrists. Gosh, it felt good to feel his limbs again. He immediately moved them around, a big smile on his face in contrast with his road trip partner that seemed to be fed up with life.
Lee Know grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the car on the very side of the road after making sure there were no cars arriving. Would be dumb if a car crashed into them because they didn't have the time to register the hazard light in the night, which was highly possible. Unfortunately, the car refused to move the tiniest bit further to the hard shoulder. The best that they could do now was stand on said hard shoulder while waiting for help. What a kidnapping.
“Now do we, like, wait and talk about our incredible lives while waiting for our truck savior or will you refuse to talk to me again.”
“I'm slowly regretting the tape over your mouth.”
“You could put something else in there to make me shut up.” he shrugged, totally intending the double meaning with that.
And here the red was back on his ears. “Excuse me what ?”
“Food. I'm hungry. Feed me.”
Lee Know looked flabbergasted for a moment. Then he blinked once,then twice, then thrice, that started to be a lot. Honestly, for a supposed kidnapper he wasn't really scary.
“Are you kidding me ?”
“Come ooon, I haven't eaten since lunch. You probably ate some cheesecake or something like that before breaking into my house on my day off. Dude, my day off, couldn’t you wait for me to be back to work” he whines
“I didn't come before or after to make sure no one would be looking for you.”
“What if I had a girlfriend without you knowing.”
Lee Know looked at him with a deadpan expexpressi, "I informed myself, I would have known if you had a girlfriend, boyfriend or even a roommate or friend that often checked on you.”
“But, I've been wondering, what even are you ? Like, are you the mafia, a guy from a small gang, a hitman, or just a weird crazy psycho that got obsessed over finding who blew his house up ?”
Lee Know didn't answer. And unfortunately for him, Jisung was not tied up and he was right in front of him so he could be as much of a nuisance as he wanted until he got what he wanted. What he wanted being answers and food. And yes, both of those two things were on the same level of priority.
Jisung came as close as possible to his ear, his breath came down crashing softly on Lee Know's neck who became stiff as a statue. Then he wrapped his arms around his waist and…
“ANSWER ME !” he shouted as loud as possible in the most annoying voice he could mutter.
Lee Know tried to flinch away but arms held him into place. Wow, he was strong, when did he get this strong ? Must have been his 10 mins work-out at the gym in September. Or Lee Know is really weak. Or even both actually. Best of both worlds, belittling his kidnapper and putting himself up. He liked this version.
“Why did the world give you such an annoying voice?”
Jisung scoffed because once again: rude, “My voice is beautiful and ethereal. You are a shitty kidnapper, you get no right to criticize it.”
“Well, I'm not originally a kidnapper. It's not my job.” He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.
“Then what are you ? And where are we heading ?”
“I can't tell you much but you shouldn't have blown up this house. You wouldn't have been dragged into this mess if it wasn't for it.”
“That much I figured out but why did you make it sound like it's not your house ?”
“Because it's not.”
Then another silence settled between them. Oh, it would be awkward if he actually blew up Lee Know's boss’ house without knowing. And now his boss wanted his head so he wanted Lee Know to bring him to a certain location so he could kill him himself because it's super uncool for a boss to move himself to his location just to kill him. Like, imagine having so much time to waste you can travel to a random kid's workplace after stalking him just to kill him. That would make them look like a loser.
After a while curiosity took over him–or rather, he got bored of watching cars pass by so he decided to fill the silence.
“Soooo, whose house did I launch a bomb on ?”
“My boss.” Ok, so he got that right.
“And is he, like, pissed about it or actually pretty chill. Because honestly if he was chill about it I wouldn’t complain, helps me carry on with my life and all.”
“You're here, do you think he took it well or not ?”
“Well, you never kno-”
“Stop playing around.” He cut him.
“I'm tryna keep a nice vibe, not my fault you're a stuck up who can't unwind once in a while.” Jisung mumbled but Lee Know seemed to have clearly heard it.
The next second a gun was painted at his forehead, held by a furious Lee Know. His breath was irregular, jaw clenched. Oh fuck, he pissed him off. Well, it was nice knowing this world. Jisung did not even flinch, he just stayed still and stared at the gun which seemed to anger Lee Know further more.
“Can't you fucking shut up ? Do you not fucking realize your situation right now ? You are defenseless, kidnapped without anyone knowing where you are or even that you are gone and you don't even know where we are going. I, on the other hand, know what the fuck is happening and what's gonna be of you in a bit. Don't you see the power imbalance here, are your brain cells finally connecting ?”He said, getting angrier and angrier every sentence while pushing Jisung more and more back.
Jisung knew it was seriously dangerous and that he was basically fucked. He knew that was probably gonna die in the next few hours and he would be lying if he said it did not freak him out to some extent. So that was why he took the situation so lightly. Making it seem sillier than it was so that he wouldn't have to think about what was to come.
The truth was that he was terrified.
He wanted answers to at least know what was gonna happen to him, why he had been kidnapped but Lee Know would only give him vague answers or completely avoid the question. What was he supposed to do in this situation ? Wallow in all the possible scenarios his brain could come up with that were more horrible than the previous one until he pushed himself into a panic attack or distract himself by bugging his kidnapper ?
They remained in silence for a few minutes until a truck finally arrived to take their car. The man behind the wheel kindly offered to give them a ride to the town center at the very least seeing the hour and how little cars there were but Lee Know glared at Jisung and declined the offer. Before the car could be taken Lee Know grabbed a bag from the back of the car and walked back to stand next to Jisung. As the truck went away, Jisung could only wonder how they were supposed to arrive at the destination now. They weren't actually gonna walk there by foot, right? It was probably very far away from where they were.
Jisung's stomach growled and Lee Know immediately face-palmed.
“I'm hungry.” he quietly muttered, surprising Lee Know who blinked up at him.
“Right, yeah, you haven't eaten… In a while.” he took out his phone, “I'm gonna call my boss so he can send us a new car and then we'll get you something to eat, alright ?”
Why was he nice now ? Did he feel bad for screaming at him earlier now that Jisung had become strangely quiet. Was he trying to comfort him ? He would need a big amount of nuggies if he wanted to lift his mood then because it had never been this low.
“I'll be right back. Don't try to escape, you're not fast enough.” Lee Know seemed to wait for the usual banter but nothing came which made him frown.
He walked a few paces away to take his call. Jisung watched as he paced around, seemingly pretty anxious about the call. However, Jisung watched as Lee Know visibly relaxed a second later and started speaking. Oh, so he was anxious about whether the other person would answer or not. Lee Know almost looked like he was speaking to his best friend, gesturing around, smiling softly at some moments.
When he came back to Jisung he only found a curious look targeted at him.
“Are you close to your boss ?”
Lee Know seemed to beam a little at the question, “He's been my friend since I was four. Our families knew each other.”
“Does it feel, like, really different to have him as a boss after being friends for so long ?”
“Not at all. I grew up to be his right hand man and him to be my boss. It was all planned.”
“Are you a small clan or a big mafia ?” he dared ask seeing as Lee Know seemed more willing to answer.
“We're a pretty big gang but definitely not a mafia. We don't mingle in enough things to become one.”
“I've always been wondering… How does your love life works there ? Cause, like, you're always in danger and all so you probably wanna avoid girlfriends or boyfriends so they won't get hurt but some still get partners.”
Lee Know sighed, “You're too curious for your own good. We avoid in general for the exact reason you've just said. But when the one you love is already wound up in a similar mess, you kinda come to terms with the fact that you being together won't change much.”
“That sucks.”
“You don't say.”
“You know you've lost all your threatening value in the span of a few questions.”
Lee Know spinned towards him to look him openly in the eyes. Jisung realized it was the first time he had gotten to see his eyes more clearly without this damn bang hiding them away. They were so dark and sparkly. It looked like God put all the stars in the sky in his eyes. And they looked so soft and earnest, not at all dangerous and threatening.
Jisung also realized that many things in Lee Know were not threatening. His voice was soft and soothing like honey and music to his ears. He didn't raise it at any point, even when he had pointed a gun at Jisung. He quickly relented to talking to him instead of shutting him up since the beginning and immediately tapping his mouth. Even right now, he left him plenty of freedom, he could run anytime he wanted even if it would be stupid of him.
It didn't feel like a kidnapping. Lee Know didn't put the efforts to make it feel like one, no, to make it one.
Did Lee Know even want to do this or was he forced by some circumstances?
“Did you… Did you mind kidnapping me?” the words slipped out of his lips without him noticing.
Lee Know stayed quiet. What Jisung learnt through this forced road trip with him was that when he didn't answer that meant he did not want to answer. Lee Know was a simple man like that. But he wouldn't mind answering if he did this willingly. So…
“ Yes, you did, huh ? What forced you to do it ? If that's not too much TMI.”
“Didn't you say you were hungry ?” Lee Know cut “There's a station not far from here.”
Ok, so sensitive topic. He dug too deep. It was definitely TMI. Just like the place where they were going or what was gonna happen to him in the near future.
Despite all of this Jisung tried to keep a good energy.
“Right, I'm staaaarving. You need to feed me. You wouldn't want your victim to die on you before you can bring him to your boss, right ?”
This time, Jisung could see his eyes form croissants, “Yeah, gotta keep you alive for a long time.”
Jisung did not perk up at the information just in case Lee Know let it slip by accident. He was impressed by his nonchalant acting. He was so nonchalant that even Lee Know quirked up an eyebrow at him. Ok, maybe he was too nonchalant. And maybe just maybe he had immediately put his hands in his sweaters pockets and pulled out his most deadpan expression at the news. He didn't say he was positively impressed at himself after all.
He and Lee Know started walking towards the station when they hear a massive explosion behind them. Jisung wiped around to stare at the beginning of a forest fire and as much as the flames looked beautiful he was pretty sure trees dying were no good news. You see he listened to his teacher's lectures about how we needed tree before he dropped out of high school. He was too much of a genius for this.
But right before he was about to tell Lee Know to call the firefighters he realized something. Why was there a bomb right here, not far from where their car had stopped. Bomb that could have possibly rolled out of the car boot when Lee Know opened it to take a suspiciously heavy bag that should probably be carrying at most a weapon and tape.
Jisung turned towards Lee Know, eyes contorted in disbelief.
“Hold on, that was one of my bombs. Why did you have one of my tiny bomb prototypes ?”
Lee Know seemed to snap out his trance from Jisung's loud screaming. Disoriented, he grabbed his phone and walked aside to probably call firefighters and take the occasion to ignore Jisung's question. You see he was usually a very cold-blooded person that rarely got angry. But, well, Lee Know should have fed him sooner.
The moment Lee Know hung up, Jisung walked toward him, grabbed his phone and yanked it out of his grip furiously.
“Ok, no vague answer. Tell me why did you have my fucking bombs and where are we fucking going and what's going to happen to me or I'll crush your phone to the ground right now and run away.”
He had no idea if his threat was of any value but Lee Know seemed to pause to reconsider his options. Lee Know's eyes wouldn't meet his, like magnets pushing each other away. The moment his eyes would flicker to Jisung's a surge of guilt would appear in them before he looked away just as quickly. It was unnerving but strangely, despite his fatigue and feeling his body slightly faint from the lack of food, Jisung waited.
“Let's go to the station.” Jisung was about to protest but Lee Know cut him off, “I'm gonna explain, I promise but right now you look like you're barely holding onto two legs and I don't want you to faint. You complained you were hungry before, right? How about we go eat something, huh ?”
“Fine.” he grunted, “But only if you give me a piggyback to the station. Else, I'm not moving from here.”
Lee Know sighed but Jisung could spot a fiant smile, “You always have to ask for something, right ?”
Lee Know crouched down in front of him and Jisung had to blink a few times to check that he wasn't hallucinating. He was actually getting his piggyback. Like. For real ? His kidnapper was about to give him a piggyback without complaining. This should be written somewhere in History. His name should appear in History books as the guy who got a piggyback from his kidnapper considering how unbelievable it seemed.
Nevertheless, after a few long seconds staring at Lee Know's back, Jisung finally positioned himself on his back, making himself confortable. Lee Know stood up, making sure he was steady and gripping him correctly before walking towards the station.
The walk was long silent but not awkward. It was a confortable silence. The sound of the fire creaking in the background as the trees were sadly getting consumed almost lulled Jisung to sleep.He hoped the firefighters would arrive before it was too late.
When they arrived at the station’s shop, the cashier gave them a strange look as they entered but they couldn't be bothered. She had her life, they had their lives. Jisung lazy gestured towards a pre-made chicken sandwich since they didn't have anything to heat food nor much money so they would have to do with that. As they left the cashier was still staring at them as if they had said socks with flip-flops were the best but they couldn't care less.
After a bit they were back at the hard shoulder but with sandwiches which was a big improvement. Jisung started eating his sandwich and waited for Lee Know to finally answer his question. The latter sighed.
“The boss initially wanted me to kill you on the spot at your home with some drugs I would have slipped by intruding your place. You were unimportant to him, just a kid that was good enough with bombs to annoy him by blowing up his house. But you see, my boss who is his son didn't want that. He saw potential in you” he smiled then said slightly quieter the next part, he seemed almost ashamed, “and maybe I also nudged him towards this opinion since I had noticed you a while before. So, my boss wanted to give you a chance to prove you could be beneficial to us.”
Lee Know let the information sink it but the more the seconds passed, the more confused Jisung grew and Lee Know seemed to notice that despite the darkness.
“That's why I kidnapped you instead of killing you which was my initial mission. That's why I took some of your inventions to show him what you're capable of. And that's why I'm bringing you to our HQ house so you can formally meet our boss and convince him to take you in because if you don't then no matter how kind he was, he would let his father kill you. He wouldn't bother the trouble for someone that wouldn't bring him any benefits and made us lose a massive amount of money.”
“I got the overall but you lost me at he bosses. You have two bosses…?”
Lee Know chuckled, “It's like a hierarchy. I should listen to whatever the leader of our group says, however my real boss and the only one I will refer directly to as boss is his son as I am one of his men. So if his son orders me to not listen to his father, I shall follow suit. One order is prioritized over the other”
“Basically his father is the leader but you only listen to your boss who is his son. But you can receive orders from the leader as long as his son agrees with it.”
Lee Know nodded and Jisung pretended he understood what he himself explained. Understand him, his brain was tired. He hadn't slept and he didn't really want to be a pillow princess but the back of a car isn't the most comfortable bed, especially with Lee Know waking you up each time you snorted. Believe him, he woke him up one too many times. Snoring is important for him, his sleep wouldn't be complete without it and this kidnapping was the proof!
So, he basically got his ass saved by his current kidnapper and the boss who ordered to kidnap him. How ironic.
If he had friends he would have immediately grabbed his phones to tell them about this crazy thing that happened to him. They would be in a group chat with a weird name centered around food or an inside joke between them. Bad news: he didn't have friends nor a phone. Hold on, where was his phone now ?
Jisung tapped his pockets before lifting his gaze towards Lee Know who was stared solemnly at the burning forest. When were the firefighters arriving ? At least half the forest had burnt by now.
“Where did you put my phone ?”
Lee Know frowned before his face lit up, “crushed in an alleyway so you can't be tracked down.” he shrugged
“You what ?” Jisung muttered in disbelief, “Dude, I had an AR55 Genshin Game on that phone ! Do you know how long it takes to reach this level ? I don't even remember my password. I'm not even sure of my email !” he threw his hands in the air
“Your Genshin game was literally the last of my concerns back then. And, how was I supposed to know that you can't remember shit ?”
“It's literally written on my face. Look at me and tell me I have the face of someone who can remember things ?”
Jisung grabbed Lee Know's head to tilt it towards him in order to make eye contact. Lee Know seemed to actually scan him but he must have felt embarrassed because his ears were progressively turning into tomatoes. He had never thanked the headlights of the car passing by them for allowing him to notice this little detail. Jisung was charming like that.
Lee Know averted his gaze after a few seconds, while letting out a sigh of defeat and Jisung knew he just won another battle.
“You're gonna find a way to get back my Genshin account, right ?” he said expectantly.
Lee Know stayed quiet for a few seconds before relenting because Jisung was a gremlin, “How am I even supposed to do that ?” he sighed
“You surely have a hacker in your gang–”
“I'm not bothering Hermes just for this. He's… probably already busy.” Lee Know cut him
Jisung quirked up an eyebrow, a smile at the corner of his lips, “Probably ?”
Lee Know sighed, passing a hand through his hair, “Let's leave the topic of your Genshin account for later, hm ?”
“Only if you tell me your real name.”
Lee Know's eyes widened and his eyes snapped to the boy in front of him, waiting expectantly. Lee Know sighed– Jisung thought it was the most sighs he got out of someone– before giving a why-would-I-tell-you-that look to Jisung.
“Listen, if we're gonna work together in the future it's kinda unfair that you know my full name and face while I don't know any of that about you.”
“No. You're not seeing my face–”
“Why, you're ugly under that mask ?” Jisung cut
“Quite the opposite.” Lee quickly said before finishing his previous sentence, “–and you're not getting my name until we arrive in front of my boss.”
“But why ?” Jisung whined, “It's not like I'm gonna be able to tell anyone. If I run off before we arrive at your boss’ location, you'll kill me. If I refuse to join your gang, you'll kill me. If I join the gang I have zero reason to snitch.”
He was about to retort until he realized that Jisung had a point this time. And a pretty good one. A very impressive one that no one could ever disprove. That boosted his ego by ten folds. Not that it was low to begin with.
“Fine, “ Lee Know relented, “My name is Minho. Lee Minho. It's a pretty common name so you probably won't go far with it if you snitch anyways.”
Lee Know– hold on– Minho grabbed the elastics of his mask and pulled it off. Jisung thought he would have to wait for another car to pass by them to see his face but Minho suddenly grabbed his phone, put the flash on and turned it up to the sky.
Oh fuck, he's hot.
Like really hot.
But really really hot.
Jisung had already guessed so because his entire face wasn't covered by the mask but damn. He had even underestimated his expectations. That dude was probably the super popular boy at school who was also a wrongun but no one cared because he was handsome. Well, the wrongun part was definitely true because he did the totally uncool thing that was kidnapping him, Han Jisung. But he was honestly tempted to forgive him, especially if he kissed him senseless and maybe more.
“Cat's got your tongue ?” Minho said in a much too cocky tone for Jisung's liking. “Are my visuals to your liking ?” Yes
“Could be better.” Jisung shrugged, “When is the new car arriving ?” he changed the topic, you know, like a coward.
Jisung heard the sound of car wheels screeching behind him and understood that their ride had arrived. He turned around to face their savior car. It was a Mini. With a bulky guy behind the wheel. His mother taught him to never laugh at people's faces when he was younger, nor to point his fingers at people. You see, the problem was that he never listened to his mother. So he broke down into laughter on the floor.
Floor that was wet because it had rained not long ago. It took him a second to notice the puddle he had involuntarily put his knee in.
“Karma.” Minho chuckled
Well, Jisung didn't know this Karma but she was a bitch and very rude. She could go fuck off her and her shitty puddle placements. That jean was brand new !
Jisung got up from the floor, cursing the world for placing this puddle right where he knelt and begrudgingly went in the car of the guy he just mocked. He stared out the window as Minho slammed the door behind him after seating in the backseat of the car with him.
“You're sure this kid is worth the effort, Lee Know ?” Mr. Bulky-men said, seemingly worried.
“Don't worry about it, just drive.” Minho brushed him off before shifting his head towards Jisung, “You should try to get some shut-eye. You look like shit.”
“First of all, fuck you. Second of all, I'm an adult not a six year old, I can survive with only a few hours of sleep.”
“You bet ?”
Take his eyes off the window, “Bet ?”
“If you stay awake you can ask anything from me but if you fall asleep then I can ask anything of you.”
“Even the most embarrassing possible things ?” Jisung lifted his head from the window
Minho smirked, “Even the most embarrassing things.”
Oh, he did not know what he sold himself for. Jisung could ask him to go in front of their whole gang in a giraffe costume or something and apologize to him. He would definitely film this to re-watch it anytime he felt down.
“Do we have a deal ?” Minho extended his hand towards Jisung who immediately grasped it.
“Deal.”
__________________________________
He may or may not have fallen asleep.
But understand him, seeing how bad the seats were, he was genuinely convinced that he would not get any shut-eye.
So he lost his bet.
And he didn't get to annoy Mr. Bulky-man for having such a lame car that just made him look constipated in the driver seat.
At least, Minho had the mercy to not rub the salt in the wound. He probably felt some sympathy because Jisung looked like the embodiment of “on the verge of snapping because of stress”. This whole encounter, on which his life depended, was surprisingly stressful. He wondered why.
And he didn't get to feel anxious because he was now in front of the HQ of their gang. He didn't even know what their name was. Better be a cool name because he would rather die than be in a gang whose name sounds like it came out of an edgy 11 year-old imagination.
The HQ was a simple house, in a simple village, with simple people. It started sounding like the introduction of Sofia the first. Did Minho forget to tell him they were some kind of group who devoted their life to Sofia the first aesthetic. If it was the case then he was all in.
Sofia slayed.
“Is your boss Sofia the first ?”
“What ?” Minho asked incredulous
“Your boss, is it Sofia the first ?”
“What are you babbling about now…”
Minho calmly guided him through the entrance of the house while Mr. Bulky-man stayed outside proudly leaning on his Mini. He was not allowed to look smug when he was the size of his car.
When they got inside Jisung was amazed by the sigh of that thing called normalcy. It was your average house. No weapons at hand-reach. No men in black suits waiting inside. Just your average house with group and family pictures, pizza boxes on the table. This group was really talented at losing their threatening value in the span of a few minutes, weren't they ?
“Boss is waiting for us in his office upstairs. No one else but us is allowed inside the house until the boss and I both come out.”
He loved how he was not included in the end equation clearly signaling that he had a chance to die inside this house. That would be a lame death. Dying in a completely normal-looking house. What would even be written on his grave ? Maybe he should have thought about this in the car instead of sleeping. That would have been more productive.
“What's going on inside your head ?” Minho gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“A lot of very useful things like the grand escape scheme I've been preparing since you dragged me out of my house.”
“Sure,” he chuckled, “Before we go into the office I would like to ask for my reward from the bet.”
Jisung froze. Right. He lost, “Right now ?”
“I can't ask a corpse out for a date.”
“Oh yeah, that's true–” Jisung paused, processing what he just heard. He wasn't going senile, right ? “Date !?”
Minho nodded, “No matter how loud and annoying you can be, you still have your charm. It might not work out but we could try and if it doesn't work then we'll stay as friends.”
Jisung was flabbergasted at how easily Minho asked him that. Was he used to asking his coworkers out like that ? Jisung didn't take him for the playboy type but it could be possible after all.
Well, if a date could get him into his be– he meant, a handsome boy with the voice of a songbird, he wasn't going to complain now would he ?
“Why not.”
“You don't have a choice anyways, you lost the bet, little sloth.” he scratched his head before dragging him upstairs, “Now come, the Boss has been waiting for a while now. We don't want to keep him waiting even longer.”
Oh fuck, it was happening. He was most definitely gonna crack some bad joke and end up with a bullet between his two eyes. He should have asked about how the boss was before coming. The boss was best friends with Minho, he wouldn't kill his date, right ? Jisung felt a weight form in his stomach. He couldn't delay it anymore. It was happening.
They stood in front of the door and Minho squeezed his hand even tighter. Was Minho anxious too ? That wasn't a good sign, right ?
What if they opened the door and the boss changed his mind and immediately shot him ?
“Jisung, you're spiraling.” Minho softly said, “Chan's nice in comparison to his father. He won't kill you unless he has a very valid reason. And no, a bad joke is not a good reason.” he calmly explained.
“I said that out loud ?” Minho nodded.
Talking to himself out loud. He really was going senile.
Minho opened the door and Jisung took the sight of a man sitting at his desk. He wore short brown hair slicked back and a serious expression on his face as he leant over his laptop. He was also in his sweater, shorts and flippers but that was only a detail that made Jisung instantly relax. What was up with this gang and not looking scary. Were they actually wannabes ? Maybe they wouldn't even be able to kill him.
“You're Han Jisung, right ?” the boss’ voice echoed in the room, “Forgive me for my attire, you were supposed to arrive much earlier during my break so I allowed myself to get comfortable. I also thought it would make you feel more comfortable in turn.” the boss smiled at him kindly.
“Now, Lee Know told me you were a genius of bombs and could be useful to us. Is that true ?”
“I don't really wanna seem rude or anything but can I ask the name of your gang first ?” Jisung did not know where he found that confidence from but he was mentally thanking and cursing it.
“Lee Know did not tell you ? We're a group called the Diamonds.”
“No, he didn-” Jisung turned around to face Minho only to see that the latter did not enter the room with him and only left the bag at the entrance of the room. Traitor.
“So, are you as good with bombs as Lee Know said ?” The boss said expectantly.
Jisung nodded and went to grab the bag on the floor before pulling out one of his prototypes, “It's a smaller version of the bomb I sent on your house.” he cringed at the reminder, “Sorry about that, by the way. I'm not really good at aiming at them,” he had aimed it at this house on purpose thinking the location of this house in the neighborhood was ugly. “This bomb will only explode in a limited zone after this button is pressed. I would make a demonstration but I don't think you want this room to blow up with us in it.” he joked.
“No, I don’t”
“Me neither !”
Chan slowly nodded as he explained each prototype Minho had stolen from his house and seemed satisfied by all of them. His eyes sparkling more and more as a faint smile formed on his lips. After Jisung explained his last invention Chan gazed up at him and offered him his hand.
“I am offering you a place in our gang as one of my main men, Han Jisung. You have talents, it's blatant.”
Jisung hesitated, “You know, I'm not sure you are up to my ta-”
“And you would have accommodation as well as meals and a pretty good monthly salary.” Chan added almost as if it wasn't exactly what Jisung wanted to hear.
It's not that he hated his flat and job but he hated his flat and job. And here he was offered to do what he loved and that while getting paid. He also had friends and a date with the most awesome guy he knew despite him kidnapping Jisung. What could he ask more of ?
Also he didn't really fancy dying.
Jisung took Chan's hand, “When do I start, boss ?”
Chan seemed surprised by his lack of hesitation, “Welcome to the family, Han.” he smiled
And gosh did he know that he would gain the greatest family he could ask for. But maybe that was for another guide.