Chapter Text
Jungwon
One moment, Jungwon is standing; the next, he’s flat on his back, a sharp pain radiating from his side.
“What the hell, Sunghoon?” Jay’s voice hisses sharply. Suddenly, Jay’s face is hovering above him, his brow furrowed as he checks him over.
Sunghoon appears next, arms crossed, tilting his head at Jungwon with an accusatory look. “Did you go easy on me?” he demands, as though that’s the only plausible explanation for taking down the branch’s best combat fighter on the first hit.
“Just help him up,” Jay snaps.
Rolling his eyes, Sunghoon reaches down, gripping both of Jungwon’s hands, and pulls him to his feet in one swift motion.
“Damn, Sunghoon beat Jungwon? That’s a first.” Jake saunters in casually, still buttoning the top of his training uniform.
As humiliating as his defeat is, Jungwon temporarily brushes it aside. “How is he?” he asks quickly.
“Who?” Jake responds, raising an eyebrow.
“Sunoo-ssi,” Jungwon clarifies, frowning.
Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Niki giving him a strange look.
“Well, considering we saw him exactly…” Jake glances at his bare wrist with exaggerated flair. “…ten minutes ago, I’d say he’s fine.”
Jungwon’s frown deepens, prompting Jake to snort at the younger’s serious demeanor.
“Relax, dude. Sunoo’s in his room. He said he wanted to rest.” Jake shrugs. “I mean, it must be weird—moving in with a bunch of strangers, yakuza or not.”
“Exactly, that’s why I’m asking,” Jungwon replies, his tone more defensive than he expected.
“Also, don’t forget your honorifics when talking about him, dummy.”
“Says the guy calling someone older than him a dummy. Dummy .”
Before Jungwon can retort, Heeseung finally enters, clutching a small stack of stapled papers.
“Did Siwan leave already?” Sunghoon asks.
“Yeah,” Heeseung replies.
“Great,” Niki pipes up eagerly. “You can spar with me now.”
Heeseung shakes his head. “I have to adjust our schedules.”
“Huh? Why?”
Heeseung sighs. “Looks like we’re going to college.”
The room erupts into groans and shrieks of protest.
“Not like that, ” Heeseung clarifies quickly. “Sunoo-ssi needs escorts for school—someone to walk him to classes, pick him up, and generally keep an eye on him. I need to reorganize our mission assignments to make sure he’s covered at all times.”
“I can help,” Jungwon offers immediately.
Heeseung gives him a blank look, followed by a faint smile. “I’m good, Wonnie.”
“As long as I don’t have to do actual schoolwork, I could care less,” Jake chimes in.
“You couldn’t care less,” Jay corrects with a long eye roll. “Which you’d know if you ever actually attended school .”
“Shut up—”
“Both of you, shut up,” Jungwon interrupts with a sigh. “Take it out on the mats instead.”
Sunoo
Sunoo is halfway through setting up his desktop when a knock at the door draws his attention.
Opening it, he finds himself face-to-face with one of the yakuza members—the one with pale skin, sharp eyebrows, and an air of quiet confidence.
“Hello, Sunoo-ssi,” the young man greets with a bow, a smile playing on his lips that could just as easily be a smirk. “I wanted to let you know the cooks have prepared dinner.”
Sunoo nods, glancing back at his desk.
As if reading his thoughts, the yakuza member adds, “No rush. Dinner will be out in the buffet area until 8 PM. If you’d prefer, there’s also ramyun in the pantry and plenty of snacks. Help yourself to whatever you’d like.”
“Ah, thank you…?”
“Sunghoon. Park Sunghoon.” Another smile—definitely more smirk than anything else. “I trust it won’t be too hard to remember.”
Once Sunghoon leaves, Sunoo finishes setting up his workspace before flopping onto the large king bed, letting out a sigh.
He turns his head toward the open window, where the cool autumn breeze drifts in, brushing against his face.
Another semester of school starts tomorrow, and already he feels the itch to leave this house—despite having just arrived.
Heeseung
Heeseung feels it’s only right to be the first of the gang to escort the boss’s son to school. But as the car glides through the streets, he quickly realizes this is far more awkward than he anticipated.
Sunoo sits silently beside him, gazing out the window with an expression of bored concentration. Every time Heeseung tries to start a conversation, the words shrivel and die on his tongue.
When they arrive, Heeseung hurries around the car to open the door, but Sunoo beats him to it. They collide awkwardly as Sunoo steps out, nearly losing his balance. Heeseung reacts instantly, steadying him with a hand around his waist before stepping back.
“I apologize,” Heeseung says hastily, ears burning. Great job, Heeseung. Perfect start.
“You’re fine,” Sunoo replies kindly, brushing it off with a small smile. Heeseung, meanwhile, wants the earth to swallow him whole.
The walk to class is slightly better, thanks to the noise and activity of the campus breaking the silence. Heeseung’s eyes roam across the grounds—students sprawled on the grass reading, a group practicing what looks like a K-pop dance routine near the student center, a skateboarder weaving past them.
Next to him, Sunoo chuckles lightly, breaking Heeseung’s focus.
“Were you popular?” Sunoo asks suddenly, glancing at him with curiosity.
Momentarily caught off guard by Sunoo’s clear, fox-like eyes, Heeseung blinks. “Pardon?”
“In school,” Sunoo clarifies, biting his lip slightly. “Were you popular?”
“I didn’t attend school,” Heeseung replies simply. It’s true, though he omits the part where he’s gone undercover as a student for assignments. That hardly seems relevant here.
Sunoo stops walking, prompting Heeseung to pause as well. “May I offer a suggestion?”
“Of course, Sunoo-ssi,” Heeseung says, straightening slightly. “Is something not to your liking?”
“No, no!” Sunoo waves his hands quickly. “It’s just… well…” He hesitates, then says, “Maybe you could dress a little… less formally when you take me to school?”
Heeseung blinks in confusion, glancing down at his typical black suit and silver chains as if noticing them for the first time.
Sunoo continues, his voice soft. “I’m just not used to all the attention. It’s a little… much.”
Heeseung’s gaze shifts from Sunoo to the students around them, and only then does he notice the stares. Some are curious, others disapproving. A girl passing by giggles and snaps a picture of him, whispering something about posting it on her Instagram story, commenting to her other friends about how attractive he is.
Fuck.
“This is my class,” Sunoo says, breaking Heeseung’s spiraling thoughts. “I’ll let the group know when I’m ready to leave.”
Heeseung nods mutely, watching as Sunoo disappears into the building.
When he returns to the house, Jay is lounging in the hallway, clearly waiting for him.
“So,” Jay says, smirking, “how’d the first drop-off go?”
Heeseung barrels past him without a word, ignoring Jay’s indignant shout of, “Okay, rude!”
Later that day, a message pops up in the group chat.
Heeseung: Reminder: Please dress casually when escorting Sunoo-ssi on campus.