Play it Cool - Soonhoon

12

Jihoon came home late into the night, shoulders tense as he stepped through the hall. None of his men were waiting for him so he figured he could call it an early night and crawl into bed. He turned the light on in his room only to be met with Soonyoung on his bed. The boy was fast asleep. Jihoon neared him with a gentle smile, expression souring when he noticed the slight bruising on his arms. He touched his skin, wondering what had happened to Soonyoung. The paranoia inside him sat worried, flipping the boy some to see the rest of his body. At the movement, Soonyoung stirred awake.

"Hey," He slurred, rubbing at his eyes. "You're back." Jihoon couldn't take his eyes away from the stained skin and Soonyoung noticed. "I'm okay, really. Went a little hard with the training is all."

"Training?"

"I asked Jun and Wonwoo to train me to fight." Jihoon's face hardened.

"Why would you do that?" Soonyoung sat up, slinking himself around Jihoon's standing form. Jihoon felt his shoulders fall and he cursed himself for being so vulnerable. Soonyoung just brought out this side of him.

"So you don't worry so much." Jihoon could understand why Soonyoung would want to learn, but he'd rather Soonyoung rely on him. He was here to take care of him after all.

"I'll worry regardless." Soonyoung leaned closer, catching Jihoon's lips suddenly.

"I just don't want to feel useless. If anything were to happen-"

"Don't say things like that." Soonyoung ignored his words.

"If anything were to happen, I want to know that I can get out of it on my own. Or at least I want to say I tried." Jihoon wrapped his arms around the boy, never wanting to imagine such bad things. But in the life he lives, he knew there were bad things bound to happen. "Can I sleep here with you tonight? Jihoon nodded. Soonyoung sleeps pressed up against Jihoon's chest, Jihoon more worried than he was before.

A normal day for Jihoon was as follows: wake up, visit a business or two, and fill out paperwork before bed. However, there were days- like today- where things went just a bit differently. He had a meeting to attend, one with another leader of a different gang. He had been summoned by his men, no explanation, simply a location. Jihoon arrived with his own men in tow, scoping the place with wandering eyes. The other man's right hand man stepped forward. He patted them down before letting them step inside the cafe, the building entirely empty save themselves. Mingyu went to follow, but he was stopped.

"I believe I only asked for you." The man said. Jihoon nodded, affirmation that he'd be okay. Mingyu lingered by the door, keeping a watchful eye. "Nice to see you again."

"It's been a long time." The last time Jihoon had met with Baekho was years ago, back when he was still the soon to be successor. He had shadowed a meeting with his father, Baekho fairly new to the scene. He talked a lot about going overseas and had been in China for almost all the years Jihoon has been leader.

"Five years now- if I did the math correctly." He was sipping his coffee, looking ever so evil with that devilish smirk. "Had just turned of age." Jihoon nodded. "Now you're in charge of your own gang. How does that feel?"

"Why ask? You've been leading your gang for longer." Jihoon was weary of Baekho. He still hadn't figured out who attacked him that day. Baekho had just come back to the city, It all seemed too suspicious.

"Alright, enough with the small talk. I called you here to share some news." He took another sip of coffee. "Hong Kong has bled me dry. I've been finding it harder to maintain businesses than when I first started, back in the days of melancholy and seeing what worked and what didn't. But anyway, I'll get right to the point." His gaze was steady as he sized up Jihoon. "I'm broke, plain and simple. No money to my name, or enough to maintain my gang."

"And this concerns me because?" Jihoon was in no mood for games and Baekho seemed like tease. The shift in his expression proved it.

"So bratty, ah well you're still young." He became wistful, if only for a moment, before giving Jihoon a hard gaze. "Your father was actually the one who invested in me, gave me his name to use when I was abroad. Inherently, my debt has now become your debt." Seething, Jihoon stood up. He marched into Baekho's space, his men going for their guns. Baekho called attention, attempting to relax the situation.

"I don't believe you." Jihoon said through gritted teeth, finding it very hard not to hit something right now. Baekho smiled lowly before standing.

"There's paperwork to prove it." A folder was handed to Baekho, one that was then placed in Jihoon's grasp. He flipped it open, mouth going dry at the signatures he saw. All were from his father. All had zero dollars. Numbers were in the negatives and Jihoon was even more angry, flinging the folder to the wall.

"I call bull, there's no way my father would so leniently sign himself away like that."

"You don't seem to know your father very well." Jihoon saw red, crying out as he threw a punch. It was very audible, the sound of bones cracking, but Baekho didn't call his men. He put his hand up, tensing and untensing his jaw as he met Jihoon's eye again. "Some power you got there." He winced as he went to laugh. "Shouldn't have made you mad." He turned to leave, second guessing himself as he was turned away. "Twenty seven million dollars will cover the debt. I need them by Wednesday." Finally, he walked off.

Jihoon had money. Plenty of it. But twenty seven million dollars was still a lot, and to get in a matter of days, well one thing was sure. Jihoon had been screwed over.

The moment he stepped foot inside his house, he called for his men, all gathering at the kitchen table. He needed input. He needed answers.

"He wants you to pay how much?!" Seungcheol raged. "Who does he think he is?!" Jihoon tried to placate him and his men, all of them getting rowdier.

"Now, listen here," He started, commanding their attention. "If Baekho thinks he can step all over us, he's got another thing coming." Jihoon hadn't been stupid. Before he left, he'd grabbed the files again, placing that same folder on the table. "Joshua, I need you to do some recon. Something about this doesn't seem right." Those files had to be forged, there was no way his father would do such a thing. "Seungkwan, I need you and Vernon on surveillance. There's more to Baekho's visit then he lets on." The pair nod and they're all dismissed, Jihoon retreating to his room. He wanted to rest, will this whole ordeal away. But sadly, the wasn't the way his life worked. Thankfully, he had his distractions.

Would you like to go out tonight?