Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

49

20th November
2020

Seonghwa sits in the living room of their mansion with Hongjoong pacing speedily beside him. Yeosang, San and Jongho are also gathered for no particular reason. This is simply one of the rare moments where the men spend time with each other.

The fireplace is lit and everyone has a cup of hot chocolate in their hands, except for Jongho with coffee. The TV is on, although no one is watching it. It only acts as a source of white noise as the men talk. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable for the most part- aside from the ball of rage pacing through the room.

"Joong, it'll be okay. Let's just get the job done today and have fun after. It's a party we're throwing after all," Seonghwa giggles before tucking his gun into his coat pocket. He can never be too prepared.

"It just irks me. Why must I pretend to be those three men's brother? That feels like an insult to Jangmi, she's my one and only sibling," Hongjoong huffs. "Besides, we haven't even seen these men properly before. If Jangmi saw me pretending to be their brother she'd either laugh at me or cry. No in between," the man stresses.

The others in the room chuckle, earning themselves a deathly glare from Hongjoong. "Relax, I'm sure she'd understand. Plus aren't the other gang members the ones that made the request for you to pretend to be their brother? You don't really have a choice here," Yeosang shrugs.

The grumpy Hongjoong exhales loudly and slumps onto the couch next to Seonghwa childishly. It's still fairly early in the morning, but Seonghwa is still fully ready in his suit and tie. Hongjoong is also ready in a suit and tie, one white rose clipped to his chest pocket. His white hair is elegantly slicked back, a few strands stylishly falling over his forehead. Seonghwa's hair is fully slicked back, and he can't help but feel that he looks like a bodyguard right now but he supposes that's what his disguise is going to be anyway.

"We should go now and set up before guests start arriving," Seonghwa announces, snapping Hongjoong out of his trance. He jumps up and nods, restlessly storming out of the room shortly after. "We should be back before nightfall. If you guys need anything, you can ask Yeosang," Seonghwa orders the two scientists. Then he turns to Yeosang.

"You can call us if there's something urgent, but try not to. This party will be big so it's pretty likely that we'll have many eyes on us today," Seonghwa then explains to Yeosang. "Stay safe, please," is all Yeosang replies with, worry present in his voice.

Seonghwa smiles. "We'll be fine. If anything, the authorities should be the ones that are scared."

He follows Hongjoong to their car and decides to drive since he's already taken the role of the "sidekick" for today.

"This is a huge deal with a huge amount of money on the line, so be careful and vigilant. Anyone could be there to mess it up for us. Even the other friends I called to help us, one of them could be against us. So be extra careful," Hongjoong warns.

Seonghwa offers a tight smile. "My eyes are peeled," he jokes, though he does feel a little pressure. There's such a high amount of drugs in their car right now, it'll be very easy for them to get caught. While the police force are no threat at the moment, who knows what other obstacles may come in their way. Another gang maybe? A group higher than the police, perhaps?

They arrive at another huge mansion which Hongjoong rented out. They plan to make it look like they live there, though anyone paying attention could easily tell that they don't.

Seonghwa gets out of the car and shields his eyes from the intense rays of the sun. It's chilly outside, yet so sunny. The two enter the house and Seonghwa is instantly hit with the stale and damp stench of mildew.