Chapter Text
Kai was a relic of the past. One of the last remaining active members of EXO. The rest had retired—died—along the way and now there were only five left, including him.
Money. Power. Fame.
He had it all.
Yet, at the cost of four of his comrades and his youth, the top brass of SM Gang was still shrouded in mystery.
Kai looked down at the Seoul skyline from his penthouse, swirled the wine in his glass, and took a sip.
He decided.
He was going to date.
-
The sea of suited bald and haired men alike chanted “We greet hyung-nim!” then parted and bowed before him as he made his way through the club.
He felt embarrassed, but he decided.
He was going to get laid.
On his way here, he realized his initial plan had been a bit unrealistic. As one of the leading figures of The Big Three, anyone close to him ran a high risk of being used as a hostage. He’d seen it happen before. It wasn’t pretty.
He ordered a Harry Styled Maugerita and waited. His underlings returned to either their posts or partying. The commotion his arrival caused quickly diffused, and the masses allowed themselves to be swept up in the storm of alcohol and dancing. Overall, people were having a good time. He felt proud. This was his territory.
“Did you hear? JYP’s Stray Kids unit is back from Australia,” Seulgi made herself home in the seat next to his. Like Kai, she was one of SM’s top performers.
Of course, he already knew. Word traveled fast in the backwaters. “Anyone worth noting?” He asked. Competition was tough around these parts. The smallest piece of information made a world of difference.
Seulgi held out her hand as if testing him, “It won’t be free.”
Kai pondered for a moment. He glanced at Joy watching them from a few seats down then back at the hand. He kissed it. Flat on the palm. Yeah, he was horny. Years on the battlefield made him so. In fact, he was going to combust if he couldn’t bust a nut soon.
“Changbin,” the younger woman shot him a look akin to pity. He was barely a month older but he was going to hold it above her forever. “You should watch out for him.”
“Is he strong?” The gears in Kai’s head began spinning. If this bin guy was someone who caught Seulgi’s attention, he was definitely worth remembering.
Nobody asked her to start storytelling but she did it anyway, “So the boy who looks like Taylor Swift gets caught dealing on Blackpink area. It turns out the two groups had something going on for a few months. A scuffle here and there, then suddenly a full-blown turf war. Two guys dead and fifteen permanently crippled. YG sent sixty-eight guys,” she paused dramatically, “he came out on top. They call him the One Punch King. But more importantly…”
She looked like she wasn’t going to continue until he gave an appropriate response. “Let me guess, he fought bare-handed like a real man against bats and cleavers?”
“Yes. How’d you guess?” She rolled her eyes like he missed the point, “More importantly…” she paused again, “They say he’s incredibly handsome.”
‘Say? Don’t we know what he looks like? There’s got to be some pictures floating around, right?’ Those were the real questions. ‘Why sixty-eight?
Instead, tired and feeling hot from the Harry Styled Maugerita, he asked, “How does that affect me?”
Seulgi winked, “That’s for you to figure out.”
She sauntered over to Joy and Irene like her job here was done and left Kai alone in the state of waiting once again.
Twenty minutes after Seulgi left, he realized he was the eye of the storm. After his absolute display of authority, no one outside his sworn brothers dared approach him. In his neighborhood, he and civilians were like water and oil—they don’t mix.
Normally, he wouldn’t bat an eye at the lower ranks cannon foddering themselves to the potential assassin, but currently, he felt a bit annoyed at the several layers of protection that prevented things from getting steamy. Hooking up with the gang was like hooking up with family—forbidden, and not in a good way.
Suddenly, he thought of a brilliant plan.
As he drove back to his apartment complex, he ironed it out. First of all, he was going to ditch the formal wear. He’d disguise himself, sneak out of his territory, go to a bar there, wherever ‘there’ was, then find someone to hook up with. Easy.
He threw on a hoodie and jeans—something he’d never be caught dead in as a member of Exo—and admired his face in the mirror. His fit was frumpy as hell, but he thought it was a privilege of attractive people to be able to wear whatever they wanted, therefore, he rocked it. He tousled his hair as a finishing touch, giving him a ‘rolled out of bed this way’ look. Indeed, he thought he looked like a god. Maybe even God with a capital ‘G’.
He drove straight where possible and turned right where the road ended. The next step in his plan was proceeding quite smoothly. As he pulled up at the cozy establishment, he admitted; his route wasn’t entirely random. If it truly was, the odds that he reached a bar were quite low.
With black marble floors and gold highlights, the building screamed nouveau riche, in other words, Peasant. Kai supposed it was decently sized, but it seemed rather small compared to the ones he owned—hence, ‘cozy’. Beats were dropped and they reverberated from the entrance all the way to his car. Strobed lights streamed out, which heightened his instincts. He began to think certain thoughts.
I’m an animal.
A bouncer stopped him, “ID.”
Kai felt a bit flattered. He was nearing the end of his twenties, but apparently, the big guy in front of him thought he still had it. Deep down, Kai knew that his garb made him stick out like a sore thumb, but screw the nouveau riche/peasants. If he wanted to mingle with them, he’d dress the part. When in Rome, do what Romans do. Hiding the one part of his appearance he was confident in under his bangs, he flashed the fake he kept around for situations like these.
When the bouncer huffed, his pulse quickened. I’m in. He was actually getting kind of excited. He was going to wreak havoc under total anonymity.
“Who was that?” he heard the other bouncer beside the owner of the huff ask.
“It said Changbin,” the huff-owner grunted. What a coincidence.
“Huh,” the asker contemplated, “I thought they said he was handsome?”
“We’re old. Maybe times are changing,” Bouncer One contemplated as well, “at least he looked strong.”
Kai decided he wasn’t going to hang around for the rest of the conversation. He had better things to do.
Kai got on the dance floor and started showing off his moves. Stanky Leg, Whip/Nae Nae, Ballet, Gangnam Style… he knew them all. If Changbin was the One Punch King, Kai was the Dancing King.
A guy with a red bandana attached to his red cap seemed to think so as well. “You got moves,” he started rolling his hips, “I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?”
“Changbin,” Kai said, rolling his hips in acceptance of the newcomer’s challenge.
“That’s funny,” the guy with the cargo fit rolled his hips aggressiver, “my name is Changbin too!” What a coincidence.
“Weird,” he made eye contact. Despite a slow song starting, Kai rolled his hips even harder to assert his dominance.
Changbin clamped his hands on Kai’s hips to stop further movement, “There is no such thing as a coincidence.”