Part time information broker

lol in case y’all weren’t aware of my disappearing act I’ve put Qian, @advjungsoo and @advkeybum on hiatus until the end of February because my course at uni leaves me quite exhausted + I’ve lost Kibummie’s muse somewhere along the way and I’m trying to find it again.

( ✂ )

“okay, yes… firmly changing my mind here. please introduce me to sunglasses. i don’t think i have this kink in me but i would call him daddy instantly. all he has to do is ask. also tattoo boy is nice too… but sunglasses.”

Wowzers.

Well. That was quite easy. Honestly, Kibum had expected some more resistance but thanks to Gray’s good looks no more persuasion was required. “He’s your type, huh?” he asked with a smirk, nudging him with his elbow, “Good choice. Personally not my favourite but I’d get freaky with him. But you didn’t hear that from me.” He was banking on Jaehyung not freaking after hearing him say that but something told him that he’d be quite cool with whatever his preferences were.

“Okay. Now onto something a bit... different. Something more club worthy.” Kibum quickly pulled up the search bar again and typed in ‘Good Boy’ with a small smirk. This song would always make him dance. If you could even call it dancing. Perhaps ‘moving his body wildly to some of the beats’ would be more accurate. “A classic. Music video’s a bit trippy but nothing you can’t handle.”

( ✂ )

“i’m taehyung, by the way,” he says, breaking the silence and turning slightly to glance at kibum from his spot on the floor. there’s slight worry in his eyes now that they’ve finished the hard part of getting to his apartment, and he quickly stands to go fetch a first aid kit, although he’s not sure what he can do on his own.

This fucker? Who did he think he was, making comments like that? If Kibum hadn’t just had the shit kicked out of him he would’ve recognised a kindred spirit in the art of running your mouth uselessly and making too many snide comments and insinuations. But since his head was still spinning from time to time, all he found was mild irritation towards his... saviour?

God. He could barf.

“You’re taking me to your place?” Kibum asked with a short laugh that quickly turned into a groan of pain. Man, his rib cage fucking hurt. “I can’t believe I come across as that easy. You should at least buy me dinner,” he joked weakly, leaning heavily on the other male. Now this was definitely not how he pictured spending his Friday. Like, going home with someone mildly attractive was always a bonus but it was kind of ruined by feeling like a pile of shit plus he was sure half his face was unattractively swollen and looked like a sunrise what with all the purples and yellows in the various bruises.

Getting back to the other’s place was no easy feat since Kibum was practically dead weight. He felt a bit sorry for his helper but that was quickly replaced by pain and irritation as he was being manhandled. He’d just been beaten half to death, no need to pull him in ways that was sure to rupture some of his internal organs if it kept up. Seriously. He had no breath left to complain but if he had he would’ve given him an earful of colourful abuse.

The moment Kibum’s ass hits the mattress of the bed he keels over with a low moan, arms spread out momentarily out of it. He dimly hears the stranger’s voice through the fog rolling through his mind. “I’m Kibum,” he mumbles, making absolutely no attempt to get up. “So tell me, Taehyung, do you make it a habit to pick up strange men off the street? Or am I just that special?”

It might not sound like it but that was his way of saying ‘thanks’.

( ✂ )

“And oh, before I forget - one day, if you decide to bite the hand that feeds you… I’d finally have a chance to utilize the darker sides of my training.” Jisoo smiled, her eyes filled with threats and promises, rendering her irises a bottomless shade of coal black.

“I’ll have you wishing for a simple bullet in between your eyes, Kibummie.”

Well. It didn’t seem like she was lacking a sense of humour. If it was humour, Kibum couldn’t tell if this was banter or just an exchange of serious threats to his life. Either way, it seemed as though he were at a disadvantage here. Knowing her, she’d already found where he lived and staked out the perfect place to position her gun to snipe right between the eyes the moment he set foot outside his door. Maybe he ought to invest in an underground tunnel to his place of employment.

He half smirked. It was fun getting under people’s skin though in this case it was like playing with a very live hand grenade. If he wasn’t careful he’d get blown to hell. And since she was already threatening to slip a land mine into his bed (what kind of weird threat was that) he was doing something right.

God. Jisoo was absolutely terrifying. Unfortunately it was kind of hot. Shit.

Kibum froze in place, barely breathing, as she leaned in and whispered sweet bodily harm into his ear. Never before had death looked so good. Well, that’s not completely true. There was this guy once who had threatened to gut him like a fish but he’d been too pre-occupied with staring at his handsome face to be fazed.

“Well someone had their daily helping of bitch flakes this morning,” he muttered, blue eyes meeting Jisoo’s dark as ink ones. “Are you always this charming when threatening your employers with bodily harm and/or death?” Quips made being scared shitless a bit more bearable plus he couldn’t help himself. His mouth just ran itself. “And I wasn’t aware that your training had a light side to it? What else do you do, help old ladies carry their groceries home?”

“Anyway,” Key grinned impishly as he rolled the mini usb across his knuckles as if it were a coin, “where were we? Ah yes, payment.”  He winked cutely at her. “Of course I’m working for you sunbae—not that you gave me much choice—I’m a most reliable hoobae. It wasn’t easy to dig up all this you know. Where should I send my bill?”

He placed the usb on the bar counter but still kept his hand on it effectively blocking it from her grasp. “I’m curious, sunbae, just how important is your captain to you? It couldn’t possibly be... love? I mean you guys experienced a lot together. Kinda difficult to not develop... something for one another, hm?”

( ✂ )

Jesus Christ.

Kibum felt like hanging his head and cradling it in his hands as he listened to Jae speak but opted for just raising his eyebrows until he was sure they were somewhere above his hairline. Had he always been this dramatic? Then again, Key wasn’t exactly the poster boy for being untheatrical. His lips quirked upwards in a smile as he looked into his friend’s earnest eyes. He really resembled a puppy which totally meant that he could get away with ridiculous requests.

“You are a scrub,” Key pointed out, “compared to me anyway.” He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. “So you want a musical intervention, huh?” Kibum tapped his lips thoughtfully as he ran through his mental list of primarily Korean hip hop artists. It wasn’t like he knew the really underground stuff but the mainstream stuff wasn’t bad either.

( ✂ )

That’s an awkward place to pause, so she adds, quite hurriedly, “you should come over too, some other time. You can see me,” she jokes, then, “if you want to. You should.” She nods in affirmation of her own words, smiling.

Hm?

Was she... flirting with him? Kibum wasn’t exactly sure what Joy was doing but it was kind of cute in a way. He wasn’t one to fall for people but he’d definitely taken a shine to this girl. She just seemed really... innocent in a way. She probably wasn’t but somehow she gave off that impression. Maybe it was due to her young age. Key wanted to know more about her and made a mental note to run her through his programme on his computer rig the next day.

Key smiled and chuckled at her obvious reluctance. It wasn’t often that one met a person—a young person—who wasn’t very computer savvy, or in the very least didn’t want to go to a computer room. “Really?” he mused, raising an amused eyebrow at her exasperation at the wonderful world of technology. “There aren’t many people your age who feel that way. I mean, 90% of young adults have their eyes glued to their phone screen most of the day and use it for pretty much everything. You’re a special case agassi.”

He leaned back in his seat, amusement apparent in his brown eyes. “Hm. If you do stop by before my shift ends I’ll give you an hour on house,” Key said raising his empty bottle in a form of a toast. “I’ll even help you.” With grin he leaned in and added, “if you end up breaking a computer it’ll come from my pay so it’s in my self-interest. Not that I wouldn’t help a lovely person such as yourself without any ulterior motive.”