Chapter Text
His mind spun as he flew back into consciousness. The feeling of the cold floor underneath him ran through his body. Next thing to bring him back to his senses was the strangling pain around his neck.
He was released long ago, but the numbness stayed.
Then came the sound of muttering, it wasn’t loud nor quiet, just enough to ring inside his head. He felt his arms being tied behind his back and his head being lightly held against the flooring. Without even fully realizing what was happening, his body suddenly moved. One hit. Second hit. That was all it took to knock out his unaware opponent.
When his eyes finally opened, he was standing in a room he didn’t entirely recognize. It’s not like he hasn’t been there before, but he was still too drowsy to connect the dots of where he was set.
As his memories started coming back, only one thing ran through his mind.
The union.
The fight.
That bastard Geum Seong-je.
No matter how crushing the pain was, he had to go help Humin. That’s when he heard a voice echoing across the hallway.
“Si-eun! Yeon Si-eun!”
He recognized that voice immediately, it was Jun-tae, calling out for him.
As Si-eun ran out of the room, he found another guy knocked out, lying on the floor. It seemed like his friend had done that all by himself without much trouble.
Until he saw Jun-tae, lying on the floor under the dim light of the barely working ceiling lamps. Let's just say he was looking way worse than bad. A slight drip of blood streamed down his lips, his hand around his stomach, trying to soothe the burning feeling.
“Are you alright?!” was the first thing that was able to be pushed out of his lips. He froze for a second. Unable to move, Si-eun didn't know if it was out of fear or aching tenderness all around his body.
When reality entirely snapped back, he quickly ran to check on the younger guy, if it wasn’t more important to check on himself first. With a noiseless hiss, he crouched down to a lower level so they could properly examine each other's faces.
"We gotta get you to a hospital." Were the next words to leave his mouth. Before he could form another thought, Jun-tae quickly replied.
"No, I'm fine, you have to go help Baku. They need you. I'll join you as fast as I can. Just go." He announced with a firm tone, before a warm smile appeared on his face, the same way as it always used to.
After hearing that, Si-eun sent him a quick nod in agreement at the same time that he lifted himself up, getting ready to leave swiftly, just as his head started filling with worries about the well-being of his other friends.
The second his eyes fell on something other than the boy lying weakly on the floor. He noticed a phone resting on the nearby table. It wasn't his or anyone's he'd recognize, but a quick flashback came straight across his head. That phone belonged to Seong-je. Well, maybe not entirely "belonged" as it was meant to end up in Si-eun's hands, along with all the information to shut down the union for good.
Just before reaching the main entrance, his arm swiftly moved to grab the device. From outside the base, there was only a quick, barely visible shadow running out. For a second, Si-eun could barely see because of dark hair falling across his face, but it was quickly swiped back by a freezing wave of air.
By the time the fight had ended, Si-eun's face was entirely covered in scrapes and bloody wounds, alongside all the other parts of his body. The same fate has befallen all his friends, classmates, and opponents. Everything that had happened was too much for anyone to process. The only thoughts streaming inside everyone's heads were to not let themselves fall down and give up until the battle was over.
The sky had fallen into a deep blue color as Si-eun got on the bus that was supposed to bring him back home. To soothe his thoughts for a moment, he decided to finally check the content of the device he had earlier found. It was easy to assume that inside it were hidden many things most people wouldn't expect, but as it turned out, it was a lot more than he could have ever forecast.
Bank accounts. Records of all the stolen bikes in the past six months. Names of all the unknown members and all their personal info, including their home addresses and ID photos.
The first thought to cross Si-eun’s mind was to hand over the information embedded in the phone to Hu-min, maybe even to Baek-jin. His mind spun with every possible outcome, and not a single one looked even remotely appealing for his own case. The next care was Seong-je and his betrayal. Yet somehow, he still cared about the effect that his actions would have on him. No matter who it would be, finding out Seong-je was the one to let himself leak all the info, he'd probably end up dead. Wouldn't that be good for him? Considering all the unfortunateness he had brought with stepping into Si-eun's life. Somehow, he still didn't know if he really wanted to put Seong-je in a situation that was so threatening. Of course, he still couldn't forget how furious he was, but that behavior would be inhumane. After Su-ho fell into a coma, he promised himself never to ruin anyone's life the same way that he did with his best friend. No matter who it was.
Seong-je stormed through the main door, stepping into the seemingly normal bowling alley. His eyes searched around the room, expecting to hear at least some yelling or fighting, yet it was quiet, to the point where it became unsettling. Walking deeper into the dark hallway, the distressful shiver crawled even further into his mind. As the last door appeared in sight, his hand slowly went for the doorknob, expecting to see Si-eun still being held down by one of the union members. Yet the only scene waiting for him was a stretch of emptiness, with no sign of any human life, other than a few bloody stains on the flooring.
In that moment, he could easily picture the whole scene that had happened a few hours ago. It wasn't hard to figure out that Si-eun had freed himself and left his enemy behind, beaten up and most likely unconscious. A quick wave of shock, anger, and disappointment hit hard. He cast one last glance around the blank space before turning around, getting ready to leave. Still, before doing so, he decided to check one more thing, the content of his pockets, and to make his day even worse, they were empty.
Shit. That couldn't be it. He couldn't have just lost it like that, right?
That damn phone. Even after checking once again, there was nothing to be found. He was fucked. The only hope left was the possibility that the device had simply been left lying around somewhere, unnoticed.
Only then was the last bit of faith left blown away. Nothing. No matter where or how much he searched, it couldn't be found, even if the whole place got turned inside out. It just clearly wasn't there. Someone has taken it, and he knew damn well who it was. Yeon Si-eun. It was always that fucking kid. If Baek-jin found out, he'd be dead in seconds.
The only option left was to get that phone back before anyone else found out about it. Willingly or not, it had to be done.
The sound of a ringing school bell echoed through the whole building. The next loud noise to come was the sound of footsteps in every hallway. Huge amounts of students ran out of every classroom, right behind them was walking Si-eun, along with his friends. He stayed silent as always, following them a few steps back. The ear-piercing yelling was actually soothing for his even noisier head, as it had been overcome with every possible trouble he could bring to everyone with his previous behavior for the past few days. actions. He wanted to tell them. He really did, but somehow couldn't bring himself to actually do so. As soon as they reached the main gate, Hyeon-tak spoke directly to Si-eun.
"You're going out to eat with us, right?"
"I'll pass." A quick reply followed.
"Seriously man, again?" Humin had added, followed by a disappointed face.
"Sorry, gotta get going." After saying that and turning around, he walked away at a steady but still slow pace, without looking back ever for one second.
The headphones were quickly pullen out of the pocket when the tempo increased. Unable to hear anything other than the soft music playing into his ears, Si-eun wasn't prepared to feel a hard push on his back. Before even realizing what had happened, he was already knocked down onto the hard surface. His backpack was swiftly shoved aside by the same person who had just thrown him onto the ground. After turning around, the face before his eyes was a face he definitely could've expected, but somehow he didn't.
Seong-je.
From the shock or perhaps fear, his pupils have widened immediately. Then a light chuckle hit his ears. He knew that laugh a little bit too well.
"Sup, newbie." That damn voice, and that fucking smirk. Clearly teasing and mocking, as he leaned over the younger guy.
"What do you want." It was more of a statement than a question. While Seong-je was clearly enjoying himself, Si-eun gradually slid a hand into his pocket and turned the pen on with a soft, faint click. Preparing himself for the worst.
"What? You trying to stab me again?" Arrogant as always, he was openly making fun of him the whole time, yet he didn't expect such a careless expression to come his way.
Without any response, he was forced to push further. "Don't try to be the one to start a fight now, when you're the one who took something that belongs to me."
After another lack of an answer, the realization came that this tactic won't work. He'll be forced to at least threaten to use violence. With one agile move, Seong-je grabbed Si-eun by the collar, and at the same time, pulled him in closer and leaned over even more.
"Don't make it harder than it has to be. Just give me what I want, and we'll go our separate ways, yeah?"
Si-eun was fed up with his bullshit. No second was spent thinking rationally, only the thought to do something until it ends up even worse for him. It was obvious not to return the phone, but he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. On impulse, the hand that had been waiting all along pulled out, with the intent to stab Seong-je and free himself. Of course, it didn't go as planned. It couldn't be that easy. His hand was caught right before it hit the other guy's arm. A strong grip on his wrist. It hurt, after all, his opponent was never a gentle guy. The bruise started to show, and they both could already tell that it wasn't going to fade fast.
A brisk pull was all it took to set his hand free, then came the burning feeling, it wasn't like any other pain. He felt like he had been stung by Seong-je. Instead of fighting back, the palm got pulled back against his chest, trying to quiet the ache in some way.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Si-eun added his first comment on the whole situation.
"Don't play dumb with me. Give me my fucking phone back." He bit back.
The grasp on the pen tightened again, getting ready to go into action again, but this time it came into view much sooner. Without any wait, that same hand got pinned down to the floor, forcing Seong-je to crouch down to Si-eun's level.
"Save it. You've already tried this shit on me more than once, and I'm not falling for it. So... You got a week to make it get back into my hands, or you won't end up being the only one hurt."
Si-eun had already realized it. He was being threatened. Not only he, but his friends too.
Same day. Just colder and darker as the sun sank down. Unable to sleep, he sat next to the desk, incapable of focusing enough to study, the only thing he could do was lean against the chair and listen to the sound of soft raindrops falling onto the window still of his room. Si-eun tried to rehearse yesterday's topic, but his hand wasn't letting him. The throbbing feeling came back every time the pen hit the notebook and was a reminder of how he let himself get treated by that bastard. All the attempts to convince himself that he had done everything he could to defend himself failed, deep down, he knew too well that it wasn't true. Now, not only was his health was in danger, but his friend's too. Everything because his curiosity got too strong of a hold on him just for a hasty moment. To be honest, no idea of what to do had stepped into his mind, not even for a second.
All the problems were always dissolvable, but not this time. There was no good nor bad answer. No outcome that wouldn't bring him more trouble. No way to solve it. No chance to help everyone.
“Why not just give him back the device?” he asked, trying to shove down the urge to help Humin, and the fragile hope that the phone, which had done nothing but cause trouble so far, might somehow become useful.
His eyes shut open again. Unable to get even a little bit of rest, he turned his head to face the window. Everything outside looked so peaceful, so quiet. The opposite of what was circling inside his head. "What would Su-ho do?" That question was painful. More painful than what had happened to his wrist a few hours before. More than being stabbed with a sharp knife. More than anything he could ever imagine. But he couldn't help it.
Fear. He was scared. Scared that Humin or anyone else would end up the same way Su-ho did. Immediately when the thought of him came into mind, he was spiralling deeper into that hollow space where no answers came, but the feelings worsened.
If Su-ho were there, what would he tell him to do? Would he want him to return the phone to his previous owner? Or maybe to pass it on to Humin?
While the uncertainties continued Si-eun, had moved to lie in his bed. Aiming to finally get some sleep. Of course, he was sure that nothing even remotely close to rest was coming, but he still tried to calm himself down, as he did yesterday, and every day before that, for the past year. Back then, he was able to doze off in seconds, even in the middle of studying. Now it was grabbing a coffee every morning after lying awake, sprawled out on the sheets for hours, until the sun came back up.