Faded // Bang Chan

Chapter 14 - Dongwoo's Party

Chan let go of the deep breath he didn't even know he was holding as Kang Dae's arm swung around his shoulder, pulling him deeper inside the large house filled with dancing bodies. This scene was very familiar to Chan so he wasn't startled by the intimacy between the strangers grinding on one another or the plastic cup of alcohol that had be shoved in his direction by a boy he'd never seen before.

"Good to be back, right?" Jaeyoung smirked knowingly. It was no secret to the group, Chan loved to party and always managed to fit in well with the party crowd. Despite never admitting it to anyone, parties were the one thing Chan had missed since leaving the small gang of friends. Nobody ever wondered why he stopped turning up to parties, it was obvious, everybody knew the reason.

Chan faked a laugh before grabbing the cup and swigging the liquid back. He threw the empty cup to the floor before brushing Kang Dae's hand away and disappearing into the crowd. Kang Dae threw his head back in laughter, feeling proud by Chan's quick transition back into party life. He'd felt apprehensive before inviting Chan. Kang Dae had always cared for the younger boy and knew that parties no longer held fond memories to Chan. The happier moments of dancing till his body ached and singing at the top of his lungs had since been replaced by the sounds of screams and the image of In Ho falling at Chan's touch.

"Should we stop him?" Minjae enquired, gazing up at Kang Dae for approval. "Leave him. I think it's more interesting this way. Let's just keep an eye and see what he does." He replied, having a great deal of faith in Chan. Kang Dae knew of Chan's troubles, between his family's financial issues and the never ending negativity surrounding his life, he'd always been there to see Chan face them all head on which made him feel nothing but respect and admiration towards the younger of the two.

"He'll be fine, Minjae. Besides, what's he gonna do, huh? He hasn't got any friends left to push off of balconies!" Sungjin joked while erupting into laughter to which Kang Dae smacked him over the back of his head. "Shut up!" He warned him and his laughter came to an immediate halt. 

Sungjin bowed his head down while Minjae and Jaeyoung stifled a chuckle. "I'm going to find Dongwoo. Stay outta trouble!" Kang Dae instructed the mischievous boys. People often mistook Kang Dae for a trouble maker due to his harsh appearance and his tendency to end up in the middle of a bad situation but there was so much more to him than that. Kang Dae had a strong personality. He was loyal and protective although he often showed it in a seemingly intimidating manner that made others fearful of him. He cared about each and every one of those boys in his circle of friends but yet, he never felt good enough for them. He always feared one day they'd leave him, just like his past friends did and that was something he had never got over. Kang Dae saw a lot of himself in all of the boys, especially Chan and would do nearly anything to keep them safe. Of course, his intentions didn't always go to plan and more often then not he led them into trouble.

With both Chan and Kang Dae out of sight, the remaining three took this as their cue to proceed with their night of heavy drinking. Minjae, Sungjin and Jaeyoung set off into the crowd with smirks planted on their faces. 

"See ya at 2 AM." Minjae nodded to the others.

Chan's mission was just beginning. He watched Dongwoo from across the room as he sat on his kitchen counter talking to some boys Chan didn't know the name of. Now was just a waiting game. Chan had no intention to come here for the sake of a party, in fact, Chan would rather not be here at all but if he ever wanted to dig deeper into the life of the boys in the gang now was his chance. He didn't know why he felt the urge to use his time searching for dirt on them but time was something he had plenty of. 

Ever since finding out Dongwoo was Bo Ra's boyfriend he'd found himself making Dongwoo his prime interest. Dongwoo seemed different from the other boys, more distant and harder to read and that was something Chan hated. What Chan wanted was revenge. If he could just find one thing to bring every one of those boys down he could finally help to clear his name from the mud.