거미줄

“I'vᥱ rᥱmᥲιᥒᥱd Jooᥒ-gι Hᥲᥒ so thᥲt ყoᥙ mιght tᥲkᥱ mყ                                      hᥲᥒd ᥲᥒd ᥴomᥱ homᥱ.”

unprompted ask / always accepting

@geomiijul​ said: “Are you ready?”, was the phrase Kim repeated several times in English to a language learning app on his phone as he partook in his early morning stretches. Lately he had been proactive in learning more English since he noticed Han speaking it to a foreign business partner and to some guests at Star Dust. While he was comprehending the words, pronunciation was still proving difficult. He tried the phrase again, speaking into his phone’s mic, this time imitating Han’s intonation as if he was greeting a long time patron at Star Dust, now with a little more success. “Are you ready?”

      after being presented with a face that mirrored his own, the leader of the jingweon mafia took it upon himself to make something out of this offer—this abuse that went through by a sleazy snake of a man in an attempt to get in his favour. the offer, that of his own son’s life to live forever in his shadow, deprived of a life of his own & stripped away from his identity. it put him in an uncomfortable situation in which all he could do, was to laugh it off & take in the stranger that was now supposed to mimic every attribute of his. from his impressive physique, to his mannerism, & even pick on a language that was limited to him. he could hear the other practice in the living room, trying to get the right intonation, or at least close to his. it had been months of preparation; months in which he was able to get closer to another human being & share his life so intimately.  that was the most unexpected thing about this entire situation: the fact that the mafioso had grown fond of his company & gave the other a genuine smile, not like the ones that he often fooled others with, but one that very few got to see. an amused one at that, as he walked out of his bedroom with hands clapping slowly, making his way further into the space to get closer.

      “—you have improved. i’m glad.” he says, ignoring whatever embarrassment there was as a result of surprising the other with his presence. han had a habit of doing just that. “you will be able to cover for me in no time. does that excite you, or make you nervous?”

Kim certainly had come a long way since he first arrived here.  It was hard to believe months ago he was a malnourished, beaten man that had very little to live for.  With each passing day, Kim felt himself improving, mentally and physically.  He had spent these first several months inside their shared living space training everyday with Han and on his own, as well as watching Han go about his daily activities in hopes to pick up his behaviors and habits. 

Living with Han, he finally felt a since of not only duty, but purpose.  He was admittedly overwhelmed by Han’s generosity at times, but he was undoubtedly grateful for everything he’s done for him.  

Startled, Kim immediately ceased his activities and bashfully acknowledged Han as he came to join him in the living room.  “Good morning, sir- I mean, hyeong.”, he greeted.  At least he caught himself this time.  It was still refer to anyone in such a casual manner.  He wasn’t even this casual to his own father.  

As the masked men surrounded Majima, the Mad Dog looked at them all unfazed, and even a fair bit amused. As they put their weapons down, he gave out a chuckle. “너희들은 잘 순종한다.” Majima teased “좋은 개들.” This wasn’t his first encounter with noteworthy Koreans, so of course he brushed up on the lingo. Still a bit shaky, though. Annunciation could use a bit of work and, frankly, the words he used could be considered akin to cave speak. Still, it was something to work with, so credit where it’s due.

“Front doors are so passé, don’t you think?” He grinned “Everyone uses them nowadays. Plus, the state you guys are in right now, you really should’ve been on guard from square one. Frankly, it’s y’all who dropped the ball on that one. I’m just the shmuck that caught ya with your pants down.”

Majima sauntered over to the double’s location before leaning on the guard rail next to him. Taking out a pack of cigarettes and a flip lighter, the legendary madman lit the stick as the smoke entered his body. “Ya know, it’s funny.” He said, placing the cigarette between his fingers as he blew the smoke outwards “Whenever I see your sculpted K-Pop-esqe mug, I can’t help but get the willies. Reports said you took a one way trip to hell, so I may as well be lookin’ into the eyes of a friggin’ dead man. Then again…”

“…You wouldn’t be the only dead man I’ve run into lately...”

That’s right.  Not many people knew Joon-gi Han had a body double.  It didn’t surprise him that Majima would react this way, especially since he had been involved with the affairs of the Jingweon mafia in the past.  As tempting as it was to correct him of his mistake, Yeonsu wanted to humor him and see just how far he can take this.  

He laughs, taking out a cigarette of his own and joining the man as if they were having any other casual conversation.  “You really believe everything you hear in the media?  Honestly expected better from one of Shimano’s ex-top officers.”, he says as he lets out a long drag.  

    he’s not even surprised upon hearing the other apologize again, which had become habit at this point. however,rather than drawing attention to it, the mafioso simply let out a laugh & shook his head, hand tentatively raising to ruffle with the other’s hair, had it not been styled already. instead, he settled with rubbing his back.

   “—yeonsu… i’d expect you to be more comfortable around me by now.” at least, comfortable enough to the point where apologies wouldn’t be needed every time he spoke back. maybe, their positions played a major role in the way they interacted, because as in the leader’s case, he had always treated him like someone close to him. the use of his first name being a reflection of that. he was the only one who knew about it & could address him in such a way, it should be special. the one to recognize him as an individual & not just as a shadow of his image.

     his stare shifted from the reflection in the mirror to the body double, smiling upon inspecting his job with the makeup. “see? it’s easier when you aren’t focused too hard on in it. even i don’t do a perfect job.”

Despite living with the mafioso for some time now, Yeonsu still had not grown accustomed to his kindness.  When he had lived with his father, asking for forgiveness was practically a daily occurrence.  If he was to truly be his shadow, he knew he had to grow out of his submissiveness and timid nature. 

Joon-gi Han’s praise was just what he needed.  Yeonsu was tempted to thank him for his kind words and gesture, but instead just weakly smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, giving a more appropriate response.  While he wished he could have mastered more by now, at least he was making progress.  At least he was able to train his body and was finally able to get into the same size clothes. 

    the formality to which the other responded always drew an airy laugh from the mafioso, as it was something that he had grown used by now despite their time together. it almost seemed like an involuntary response by now, to which han pointed out for like the hundredth time. his voice soft like silk as he spoke, soothing in a way he’d hope to make an impact on his double. maybe with that sort of reassurance, he’d be able to see some change in the near-by future.

    “—i’ve already told you that the formalities aren’t necessary.” the leader speaks as he takes the eyeliner pencil away from yeonsu’s grasps & positions himself next to the other. free hand pressing against the opposite cheek of the eye he was going to work with, just to turn his face towards him. upon making eye contact, a smirk spreads across his lips. “it’s no trouble at all.”  not when this man’s whole life was thrown away to serve as a disposable body. this was the least that the mafioso could do—carefully drawing a line that made his look sharper & smudging some of it on the bottom part to give it depth. it wasn’t anything extraordinary, though he could understand where the other came from, with this being a face he had yet to grow used to. there was a lot that it took to look like the leader with how vain he was.

    once satisfied with his work, he pulled back to admire his work with a slight tilt of his head. the hand holding onto yeonsu’s face was dropped & with that, he returned the pencil to him. gaze switching from his double to his reflection on the mirror. “let me see you try.”

Kim completely understood why everyone in the Jingweon Mafia held Joon-gi Han in such high regard.  It was no secret the man just oozed charisma.  It was what made him climb the ranks so quickly and what got him here today.  

Yeonsu wasn’t confident that he would ever be able to imitate all of that.  At least with the few deals he made as Joon-gi Han so far, he was able to successfully fool clients and a few lower ranking goons.  Sure, he had been coached the entire time on what exactly to say, but at least his acting skills were improving.

“I apologize, sir.  It won’t happen again.  I mean...Joon-gi Han.”, he said once more without thinking as he felt the gentle strokes of the pencil shaping his eye and correcting his mistakes.  It was a habit he had yet to break.  As he finished, he gratefully retrieved the pencil and tried it once more.  

@geomiijul​​​

From what Kei can see through the tinted windows, the Los Angeles noon looks sweltering—but he only receives confirmation when the chauffeur swings a door open. The cool cycle of the AC is temporarily disrupted as his driver ushers in the esteemed guest Kei was told to collect from the airport.

What he knows about Yeonsu, he’d received in a hasty brief yesterday. The guy’s here for a tournament Maliwan is sponsoring; he’s a rising star in Asia, which had admittedly piqued Kei’s interest. So rarely does he get to use the family tongue with anyone who isn’t family.

“Welcome to California,” he says, with an ambiguous smile, chin plonked in his palm. The four passenger seats are split into pairs that face each other. Kei gestures to the seat opposite, and the glass of water waiting for Yeonsu in the cup-holder. “Katagawa Keiichiro — named after my father, of course, but you can call me Kei.”

To the sounds of his driver placing Yeonsu’s luggage in the trunk, he slowly sizes up Yeonsu himself, gaze roaming shamelessly. Its intensity is a far cry from how innocuously he poses the question: “How was your flight?”

When Yeonsu landed in Los Angelus, he was not expecting to see so many fans ready to greet him.  If it wasn’t for security escorting him and assisting with his luggage, he would have been most likely trampled at his plane terminal.  ‘So, this is what those poor KPop boys had to go through.’

Yeonsu Kim, aka Mavr13k had become a rising star in the competitive ESports circuit and had gained quite the following on Twitch, most notably his skill for the game Starcraft.  While he was able to obtain great local sponsorships, this tournament he was invited to was the opportunity of a life time.  Maliwan was the one of the top electronics brands in the world and having access to their products would be a game changer for the Geomijul.  

He was told that the CEO was here to pick him up personally, most likely to give him a warm welcome to America and possibly discuss a potential sponsorship. He made his way inside the vehicle, meeting with Katagawa-san face to face for the first time.  He looked just as sharp as he did in all the ads he had seen online.  

“Thank you so much for inviting me, Katagawa-san.”, he greeted.  If he hadn’t already been seated, he would have reached out to bow and shake his hand.  While he did become proficient in English since that was the language he often spoke while streaming and recording videos with, it was nice to speak in his first language.  It was also a great way to keep conversations private.  

@geomiijul​ Surprise Starter!!!

It was a quiet, though no less busy, night in Geomijul HQ as all members were still hard at work bringing the systems back online after the fall of Ijincho’s Great Wall of Muscle. While not as effective as they were in their prime, they were still standing, so like hell were the Geomijul retiring.

As they were all busy doing their duties, however, the sound of a whistled tune carried through the hallway before the door of the surveillance room swung open, a familiar one-eye’d man stepping through with his trademark Cheshire cat smile.  

“So, this is Geomijul, eh?” He said with a chuckle, looking around “Hell of a setup you have here. Haven’t seen one quite like it since The Florist. And would ya look at all the monitors. a little Virtua Fighter here, some JSR there…You could have a regular Man Cave on your hands. Or Woman Cave. I won’t discriminate.”

The man seemed to flap his lips as if he wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of ex-Korean mafia goons. Then again, he was likely fully aware that he wouldn’t have made it in so easily (if at all) if he wasn’t given that allowance the moment he was sighted on their terf. 

“So, who do I have to talk to to get some answers around here?”

With no full surveillance system currently online and lowered security, the Geomijul HQ was wide open for anyone stealthy enough to get past Yeonsu’s men.  Unfortunately the base was currently short on man power as well since they had been sent to accompany Seong-hui and Zhao for an important job, leaving the second-in-command with lowered defenses.

Of course, the one time they didn’t have everyone present would be when someone would just stroll on in.  As soon as the Mad Dog busted into the surveillance room, the ex-Korean mafia goons had surrounded him, some masked, some with confused expressions, some wondering if he had a death wish.  One man had already took the entitative and called Yeonsu, frantically telling him what was going on.

Yeonsu wasted no time in getting there.  He was expecting a civilian to accidently made their way in here or at worst, Bleach Japan.  He quickly arrived to the scene, noticing his men pointed gun and cross bows at Majima’s direction.  “앉아!”, he commanded as he approached the infamous yakuza, himself.

unprompted ask / always accepting!

@geomiijul​ said: As a body double, it was imperative that Yeonsu had to look perfect. He was determined to finally get this makeup routine down without his boss’s help this time. He had seen Joon-gi Han do this many times before. How did he make it look so easy? Yeonsu struggles with the eyeliner pencil, wincing every time the sharp point comes close to his eye. His strokes were shakey, causing the lines to be uneven and streaky. How did he make it look so easy? Maybe he should just ask one of the hosts to do it for him again.

     just as yeonsu had picked habits from him, joon-gi had done that as well, with one of them being the way he silently sneaked behind the other like he was his shadow this time. he enjoyed catching the other off-guard because it allowed him to get a glimpse of the real yeonsu, instead of the man who tried to imitate his every move. the mafioso was amused by him, to say the least—something he couldn’t say about many people, for they didn’t catch the interest the way that his reflection did. & speaking of reflections, it took him to loom over the other’s shoulder to watch him struggle in front of the mirror with a smirk spreading across his lips at the sight he was found. not bad, but he lacked the confidence that he needed to avoid the shaky lines.

     joon-gi let out a chuckle, never one to respect the other’s personal space as he stood close behind. his head tilting to the side to get a look of yeonsu, not through the mirror this time, but face to face. gaze drawn to his eyes.

  “—you’re getting there.” a hand is placed over the other’s shoulder to give him a light pat of encouragement before he moved; strolling around the room with just his pants on. he had never been one to shy away from the way he presented himself to others, & being in yeonsu’s company, it became clear that he wouldn’t change, either. he was the type to appear unfazed by nudity, & in the inside of his apartment, that’s what he did most of the time. he walked across the room searching for something through his drawers—a golden watch to put on, before he returned to where the other was. again, invading his personal space by leaning too close for comfort. “would you like me to do one eye, so you can try the other?”

It never ceased to amaze Yeonsu at his leader’s patience toward him.  He still was not used to this kindness.  That was why he was so grateful that Joon-gi Han graciously opened his home to him so that he no longer had to go home to the man he had to unfortunately call his father.  Though, he was told the reason for this arrangement was so he can better study his mannerisms, but regardless, he had finally found his sanctuary.  

Not a single time he was in his presence did Han get angry, even when he made a mistake.  With his other men, it was all dependent how he was feeling that day.  Even so, Yeonsu was frustrated with himself that he still couldn’t get his boss’s morning routine down.  

When his boss approached, closing in the space between them, a gesture he had grown accustomed to lately, he couldn’t help but become insecure about his own progress, especially when it came to his body.  While they already looked near identical thanks to his daily gym visits with his boss, Yeonsu was still not as muscular and was still sitting at about eight percent body fat.