The car pulled up next to him. The windows were tinted black and he couldn't see inside but he knew who it was immediately. He opened the door when it came to a stop and got inside.
"Hyung! I'm so glad you're ok!" Ten's eyes shined and his smile displayed excitement and relief. "Where have you been this whole time? Why are you dressed like that?" He scanned the clothes Taeyong had on. They weren't his usually trendy streetwear or dark, chic look but rather a neat and clean, vibrant look. "You look like a highschooler getting ready for their first date or something. It's cute."
Taeyong looked down, forgetting he was still wearing Da Reum's clothes. He shook his head, not bothering to answer any of his curious friend's questions.
"Take me home so I can change and then we'll go see hyungnim." He ordered as the car started to move and he stared out the window, watching the familiar neighborhood quickly fall out of view.
"He's not happy with you. Are you sure you want to go now? Didn't you say before that you were hurt? Maybe you should rest more?"
"I'd rather just get it over with." He said blankly, still staring out the window. Ten nodded in affirmation, knowing well not to question him and the two spent the rest of the ride in silence.
They pulled up to the plain looking building that was tucked away down a rarely frequented street with no other homes or businesses around. It was unmarked and there was nothing flashy about it. To Taeyong, it was where he lived, but not exactly home. It was merely a place to hide away from the endless hustle. No one was allowed there but him and his closest people and hardly anyone knew where it was.
Ten pulled into the garage and parked. He quickly got out of the car and raced to the other side to open the door for Taeyong, but wasn't quick enough. Taeyong smirked and closed the door behind him.
"I've already told you that you don't need to do that. I have hands, I can get out just fine on my own." He patted his shoulder as he walked by.
"Yes, hyung." He stood with his hands clasped together in front of him and nodded solemnly. After he passed, Ten followed behind him into the house.
He walked down the dark, empty corridor leading into the house and was greeted by three men at the end, standing side by side in a line. They bowed their heads as he entered and greeted him in unison.
"Guys, seriously. You know I hate this."
"I'm glad to see you're ok." Jaehyun smiled and shook his hand.
"We were worried." Doyoung's forehead creased with concern.
"We missed you, hyung." Winwin cooed like a child.
Taeyong threw his arm around the cute, innocent looking boy's shoulders and ruffled his hair. As calculating and dangerous as the boy actually was, he still looked like just an adorable little brother to Taeyong and he couldn't help treating him as such whenever he could.
"I'm fine." He smiled reassuringly. "Call a doctor for me though just to check on my wound. It's been taken care of so far, but it wouldn't hurt to have a doctor look at it."
"I'll do it." Ten volunteered. Before anyone could respond, he pulled his phone out and dialed as he left the room.
"I can't believe you got stabbed, hyung." Doyoung chided. "You should have been more careful and waited for us."
"We should have been more careful and not have left him there alone." Jaehyun said sternly. "But they should have never done that. I'll kill those bastards."
"Alright, alright, let's just take one thing at a time." Taeyong tried to deescalate the building aggression. "For now, I just want to shower and change. We will go see hyungnim later and figure out what to do after that."
"That's if hyungnim doesn't shoot us all in the face when we go see him since we lost the product and the money and on top of that you got stabbed and put out of commission." Doyoung mumbled.
Taeyong scoffed at the suggestion. He knew their leader would never get rid of him. As much as he hated it, he was definitely an asset and was heavily relied on to pull in money and take care of business. "I'm sure it won't come to that. For now, just give me some time. Keep quiet about my return and we'll go to him when I'm ready." They all nodded in agreement and Taeyong left them to go to his room.
As he walked through his bedroom to the bathroom to turn on the shower, he was welcomed by the familiar surroundings. Neat and organized and minimal, a dull color scheme that reflected the modern, industrial decor. Perfectly suited to his being, it was cold, sleek and almost lifeless. It was something that had brought him comfort before but now suddenly seemed suffocating the moment he closed himself inside.
Shaking the thoughts from his head he pulled off the clothes that made him look and feel like someone else, stripping the last few days from himself along with them. He tossed them to the corner and got under the hot water, letting it flow over him and relax his muscles, hoping the tightness in his chest would ease too.
After a long while, he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He stood in front of the mirror and rubbed a towel over his hair to dry it. As the fog on the glass cleared, his image came into view. He scanned the reflection of his hair, his eyes and the shape of his bones that made up the face looking back at him that seemed distant and unrecognizable.
He traced the outline with his eyes of his arms down to the tips of his fingers, wondering who he was looking at. He skimmed over the naked skin of his torso until his gaze landed on the pink gash on his side, sealed tightly with crimson thread.
He placed his hand over the wound and pressed firmly, sending a pulsing ache through his body. He clenched his teeth before lessening the pressure.
"It wasn't a dream. It was real." He whispered to himself.
"Hyung." He heard Ten call him from outside the door.
Snapping out of his stupor he opened the door to the bathroom to find Ten waiting in his room on the other side. His eyes grew wide at the sight of his hyung's injury.
"That looks a lot worse than you made it sound!" He exclaimed as he went closer to inspect it. "Is this sewn shut with thread? Who did this? You?" He lightly poked the area with his finger.
"Ow!" Taeyong slapped his hand away. "No, not me. Just...someone. She found me and saved me, that's all."
"She? Ahhh, that explains the clothes, then." He nodded thoughtfully. "Was she pretty?"
"Get out and let me get dressed." He responded, turning his face away.
"Hyung, what is this shy reaction? Are you blushing? You're being weird all of a sudden."
Taeyong turned back and looked him straight in the eyes. "How many fingers are you prepared to lose today?"
A look of horror flashed over Ten's face for a fraction of a second and then an exaggerated smiled spread across his face as he awkwardly shrugged his shoulders.
"Anyway, I just came to tell you the doctor is on his way." He laughed nervously. "I'll be going now, enjoy your rest, hyung." He smiled still as he walked backward and shut the door on his way out.
Taeyong sighed as he ran his fingers along the makeshift stitches in his side.
"She wasn't pretty. She was blindingly beautiful." He answered quietly.
****
Yuna's back slouched against the door after stepping inside and closing it behind her. She rubbed her forehead in irritation. Every one of her body systems were in conflict with one another, fighting to dictate how she should react to Taeyong's absence.
Her muscles felt relaxed and at ease at the loss of the unexpected visitor, yet her knees were weak and slight tremors pulsed in her hands from that same loss. Her head scolded her for being stupid and irrational, her breath was steady and confident with her choice, yet her chest felt heavy and she blinked away the dampness accumulating in the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath.
"Get it together, Yuna. You only knew him for less than a week. You are being stupid, just let it go." She told herself.
Eager to clear her head and think about something else, she walked to the couch, plopped down and opened a book that rested on the side table. She laid back and read the words, though they didn't seem to stick in her head. Instead they became a jumbled mess of letters and syllables that she mindlessly recited in her thoughts as she stared at the pages.
"Damn it!" She groaned as she threw the book aside and sat up.
"I thought you'd be crying." Da Reum said as he walked out of his room.
"I'm not crying!" She shouted defensively. "Why would I be crying?" Her voice dropped to a low mumble as her eyes looked around the room trying to find something to focus on.
"I don't know, I just figured you would be. You looked like you were going to when you left earlier and you're a crybaby sometimes, so..."
"There's nothing to cry about. I'm fine, it's no big deal."
She regulated her voice to sound even and sure of her words, though Da Reum, who lived his entire life with this girl, caught the slight pout on her lips, the casual shrug of her shoulders and wandering eyes; characteristic movements that gave away the fact that she was lying.
"Ok, if you say so. Anyway, since you're fine, let's go play a few matches. I haven't played all week and I'm dying."
She looked at him, contemplating for a moment.
"Fine, but only if we can play total mayhem too. It's that kind of day."
"Deal." He nodded.
"And I swear to god if you are going to play nothing but Genji all night, I will beat you to death." She warned as she entered her room.
"Yes, noona." He chuckled. He went into his room and sat at his computer. "Distraction: successful." He muttered to himself.