Make It Spooky

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She would hate him for walking away like this, but it was what was best for her. His life - the life that Hyunwoo and even her father lived, wasn’t meant for her. She deserved more, infinitely more.

Hoseok has been through hell in his life, but up to that point nothing had been harder than looking into her eyes and breaking her heart. When Hwang Ji had brought him into the family, he never imagined that he’d meet and fall in love with someone like Nara.

He was completely taken with her from the moment they met. He knew from the beginning that it could never work between them, and for the first few months, he resisted temptation and remained strong. But there was just something about Nara that pulled him in, almost against his will, and refused to let go. 

She was bubbly and energetic, smart as hell, witty, raised in wealth and luxury, but the most down to earth person he’d ever met. She loved people fiercely and was loyal to a fault. He eventually gave in to his feelings for her and for the past two years he had known more happiness being by her side than he had ever felt.

That was until three weeks ago when he overheard her talking with her father about being accepted into one of the top trauma nursing programs in the country. An acceptance she planned to decline. When her father asked her why, she simply stated that she would be just as happy training at a local hospital as opposed to half way across the country at Ansan.

Hoseok knew this was crap. Nara had talked about the possibility of training at Ansan since they first met. He knew she was only staying for him. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let her sacrifice her future, her dreams, her happiness for him. Nara was the most kind, caring, selfless, and compassionate and  person he knew. She was going to make an outstanding nurse and she deserved the best training their country had to offer.

He knew that she wouldn’t leave of her own accord, not while they were still together. So it was then that Hoseok decided to end things. 

He knew it would be the hardest thing he would ever do, but even he couldn’t have foreseen how it would tear him to shreds, leaving him unable to sleep for months, and feeling like he could never catch a breath. But even then it didn’t matter, because he would do anything for her. Nara deserved more than someone like him and the danger that his lifestyle could put her in.

That’s how he found himself in the situation he was in now, trying to keep himself together as he looked into the eyes of the only woman he had ever loved and denied that exact fact.

“But I don’t love you, Nara. I’m sorry.”

He thought he would collapse as he watched her face fall, hit with the weight of his words. And when she told him she never wanted to see him again, his knees almost hit the hardwood and tears threatened to break the threshold they were maintaining at his lash line. He expected this type of reaction from her, but none of his mental preparation had been enough he heard her say the words aloud.

Nara accepted the offer at Ansan and left a few days later and Hoseok spent the next few weeks in a drunken stupor. Even Hyunwoo, his best friend, couldn’t lift his spirits. Instead it was Hwang Ji who delivered Hoseok words in which he could find solace. Hoseok expected his boss and mentor to be furious with him. Nara was his beloved daughter after all, but instead Hwang Ji offered Hoseok wisdom and understanding.

One evening over a bottle of soju, Hoseok confided in him the reason he left Nara the way he did. Hwang Ji said he understood and offered words that would help Hoseok find a way to live with the guilt and heartbreak - even if it couldn’t make it go away.

“Hoseok-ah, the best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, and the capacity for sacrifice.”

Hwang Ji’s voice had a gravel-like undertone. It boomed in his chest and around the room even when he was speaking in hushed tones. It was warm, reassuring, and calming as he placed a caring hand on Hoseok’s shoulder, squeezing ever so lightly.

“And you my son, are one of the best people I know. I could never be angry with you for the sacrifice you made for my Nara.”

That meant more to Hoseok than he could ever express, since to him, Hwang Ji was the best man Hoseok had met in his 22 years. Sure, he was a mafioso like so many others in the area, but so was Hoseok, and Hyunwoo. But Hwang Ji was different than most.

Hwang Ji was a mob boss with a different code. He had more morals than most others in their line of work. He didn’t deal in drugs or prostitution, he didn’t own a chain of strip clubs or seedy nightclubs with nefarious dealings in VIP rooms. His empire was built on a handful of casinos which housed illegal betting houses and underground fight clubs. He also dealt in illegal trade of art to bidders of great wealth and public standing.

For this reason the other mob bosses despised him. They hated that he was so successful without having to stoop to their levels. They felt he thought he was better than them. This made Hwang Ji the recipient of a growing number of threats and attempts on his life which lead to Hwang Ji forming a special security team to ensure extra protection for him and Nara. 

Hoseok and Hwang Ji met one night when the latter made a rare appearance at one of his fight clubs on the lookout for new members to recruit to his security newly implemented team.

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[8 Years Ago]

Hoseok had been so cold and his head was pounding. He took a chance entering the illegal fight in the hopes that he would win and earn enough cash for a few nights at a crappy motel and some ramen. Somewhere warm and off the streets, at least. Instead he got his ass beat and now he was freezing, starving and in pain.

He needed to find somewhere to sleep and quick before he froze to death. Maybe he could find an empty train car or something. At this point he didn’t much care. He was used to sleeping in all kinds of places, from abandoned buildings, under bridges, to park benches. He’d been doing it since he aged out of the foster care system and was subsequently forced to leave his foster home two years prior.

Just as he spotted a bridge that he figured could provide enough cover from the harsh winds, a large black car pulled up next to where he stood on the sidewalk. He gripped the straps of his backpack tightly, prepared to make a run for it, as one of the heavily tinted windows rolled down revealing an impeccably dressed middle aged man with kind features and salt and pepper hair.

“Hello, my name is Hwang Ji. Do you mind if we speak for a moment?”

“What for?” 

“I have a business proposition for you” 

Hoseok looked around realizing there was no one else in sight. He swallowed hard realizing he could be killed or kidnapped right now and no one would be around to see.

Hwang Ji could sense his concern. “Look, it’s nothing weird. I saw you fight and you have potential. I have an offer for you, that’s all” 

“Now I know you’re lying. I got my ass handed to me back there. Potential? Are you crazy?”

“Sure you lost, but you have skill and I’d like to offer you the chance to cultivate it.” Hwang Ji countered.

Hoseok still wasn’t sure, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and scraping his foot along the concrete, kicking at rocks that weren’t there.

“Look, you look starved. Let me at least buy you something to eat and you can hear me out. What do you say?”

Hwang Ji took Hoseok to a convenience store around the corner where he bought him some ramen, sausages, kimbap, and a soda. It was all Hoseok would allow as he was still weary of the man and also he didn’t want to feel like he was taking advantage even though he was more hungry than he cared to admit.

He was surprised to see the elder buy and eat the same items as him. He was sure that someone as well dressed and clearly established as him wouldn’t be caught dead eating such cheap food.

As they ate, Hwang Ji explained who he was and what he did as well as what he had in mind for Hoseok. He wanted to train him to become a member of his special security team. And with this offer came free room and board.

Hoseok almost choked when he heard him explain. It sounded too good to be true. Hwang Ji let out a light hearted laugh, patting Hoseok’s back and passing him his soda.

“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you come stay with me and train for a week? And while you’re there you can get some much needed sleep. At the end of the week you can give me your answer.” 

Still skeptical but finding the prospect of hot meals and a bed hard to pass up, Hoseok agreed. The week of training and rest came and went, but Hoseok didn’t. He stayed with Hwang Ji, training, and growing ever closer to the man while he climbed his way to the top of his security team.

Now here he was sitting across from the only father he ever had and not regretting for one minute the choice he made that cold night two years ago.

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[Present Day]

She yawned as she made her way down the stairs, the aroma of strong black coffee calling to her like a siren song. All of the boys were already awake and up to their own antics and the kitchen was like a zoo. No, not a zoo because a zoo had some semblance of order. The animals were separated and contained. No, this, this was the jungle. She didn’t mind though. All the chaos reminded her of her days in the E.R. That and she loved the sense of normalcy it brought to the rather grave reason they had all been brought together in the first place. 

Watching the boys - her makeshift family - scramble around in their own little worlds, warmed her heart the same way the coffee she sipped seemed to be warming her cold and stiff body, bringing it back to life.

“Morning, noona.” Kihyun greeted, picking up a plate of food from the stove, turning toward Nara to place it in front of her. 

“Changkyun will be back soon. Hopefully he will have some intel for us.”

Changkyun had been putting in charge of “extracting” some information out of a lead they had for the whereabouts of her father.

It had been a few weeks now since her father was first kidnapped. She had resigned herself to the fact that it was highly possible that her father was no longer alive. It wouldn’t stop her from doing everything in her power to find him, whether she brought him home alive, or he she had to lay him to rest next to her mother, she would bring him home.

At the same time, Changkyun, not paying attention, slid through the kitchen in his socks in a mockery of the famous scene from “Risky Business”, coming to a stop at the end of the kitchen island.

“Yah! You scared the shit out of me!” Kihyun shouted at the younger.

“I am frighteningly handsome, aren’t I” Changkyun said, placing his hands up to his face and dramatically fluttering his eyelashes.

Nara did her best to hide the smirk on her face behind her coffee cup as she took another sip.

“Do you ever chill?”

“No, not really.” he shrugged.

Kihyun rolled his eyes. “Sit. Eat.”

“Yes, ma’am, I-I mean mom, I-I mean........no mom sounds about right”

Shaking her head and smirking once again, Nara finally accepted the plate and thanked Kihyun, and plopped down at an empty spot across from Minhyuk and Jooheon. Minhyuk was busy trying to spoon feed Jooheon his breakfast and the latter was engrossed in some game on his phone and growing evermore annoyed with his clingy, yet well-meaning boyfriend.

“Minhyuk please, I can’t think straight when you’re this close.”

“Oh please, Heonie. Thinking straight is the last thing anyone is asking you to do. Speaking of which, did you get my note?”

“You mean the one you left taped to my forehead? Yea, I got it.”

Everyone snickered at this little exchange as Jooheon just rolled his eyes.

“Pft really Minhyuk? Subtle, really subtle.” Hyungwon snorted.

“I am the master of subtlety, okay?” 

“Oh please, you’re practically bioluminescent.” 

No one could bicker better than Hyungwon and Kihyun which is why they were appropriately dubbed Tom & Jerry. But Minhyuk and Hyungwon were a close second. Hyungwon was always the first one to pick on Minhyuk and the open manner in which he chose to show his love for Jooheon. Part of Nara believed it was due to his own inability to accept his feelings for Changkyun and in turn he took that frustration out on Minhyuk for being so openly in love and happy.

Nara had confronted Hyungwon about his seemingly suppressed feelings a while back but was met with more resistance and denial.

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[2 Weeks Earlier]

“Are you ever going to tell him?” 

Nara was sitting next to Hyungwon who was supposed to be watching the movie he picked out but was instead staring intently at a sleeping Changkyun.

Everyone else had either dozed off already or was out for the evening so Nara felt herself asking again when her first attempt was met with silence.

She nudged him, “Hyungwon?”

“Huh? What?” he asked coming out of his own thoughts.

“Are you ever going to tell Changkyun that you love him?”

“Pft, w-what?” 

He swallowed nervously not making eye contact with her. 

“I…I mean I-I’m I d-don’t. I mean w-what?”

“Its okay, I won’t tell anyone,” she reassured him. “But you should tell him.”

“Hah, yea that’s not going to happen,” he laughed half-heartedly. “And neither is this” he said gesturing between the two of them. “This little heart to heart or whatever just happened between us won’t happen again either. I have a reputation to maintain.”

“Oh yes of course. I wouldn’t dare jeopardize your reputation.” Nara quipped sarcastically, standing from her spot on the couch and ruffled Hyungwon’s hair much to his disdain. 

“Night, Wonnie.”

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[Present Day]

Back in the present, Minhyuk easily blew off Hyungwon’s snarky remarks and was quickly back to pestering his boyfriend about his note.

“So babe, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“About my noooooooote!”

“No Minhyuk, I don’t want to.”

“Pleeeeeease? It’s just a pasta dinner. I just want to go on a date with you. Please it will be romantic.”

“For the last time Minhyuk, if it was just dinner I wouldn’t care, but I’ve told you over and over again that sharing a piece of spaghetti like two stray dogs isn’t romantic and I won’t do it.”

“You never let me have anything!”

“Why? Why do you want this so bad?”

“Because I’m here, I’m queer, and I want pasta so give it to me!”

A chorus of laughter broke out among the eight of them. One laugh stood out louder and unfamiliar from the rest. They all turned their heads to see Hoseok doubled over the counter and laughing to his heart’s content.

They were all shocked. They couldn’t recall the last time they had seen Hoseok laugh, like genuinely and wholeheartedly laugh. Some weren’t sure they ever had. And here he was laughing unabashedly, tears breaking at the creases of his eyes. The sound and sight was undeniably beautiful and they all soaked it up before breaking into another mess of giggles and smiles along with him.

Hyunwoo circled his arm around Nara as she watched her favorite people laughing and being momentarily carefree. He said he couldn’t remember a time in recent years that he’s heard his best friend laugh that way.

“It’s because of you, you know.” 

“He hasn’t laughed like this since you left.”

He squeezed Nara’s shoulder and quietly made his way to the stove for a second helping of the breakfast Kihyun had made them, leaving Nara alone with her thoughts.

Thinking of what Hyunwoo said and seeing the smiling faces of the boys around her, she couldn’t help but think that in that exact moment, despite all the danger, and trials to come, she swore she wouldn’t mind staying this way, in this place, with these boys forever.

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Nara and Hoseok had just finished another grueling training session, and were currently sitting across from each other on the mat, each chugging a bottle of water, breaths beginning to even out. Hoseok was the first to break the silence.

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you.”

Nara was taken aback. She wasn’t sure where this sudden confession was coming from. She looked into Hoseok’s eyes full of sincerity and fought the urge to waiver from her hurt and just forgive him already.

“So why did you?” 

She took another sip from her bottle and averted her eyes from the overwhelming emotion in his.

“It’s complicated. But it was what was best for you.”

She huffed. ‘Not this again’, she thought, standing from her spot. 

“Right, this again. If you aren’t going to be honest with me Hoseok, then shove your apologies up your ass!”

Hoseok scrambled to his feet. 

“Wait! Nara you don’t understand.” 

She had already turned her back and was heading toward the door.

“Of course I don’t understand!” - she turned to him abruptly - “because you never tell me anything, never explain anything.”

“Nara, please.”

“Save it, Hoseok. Unless you’re going to tell me why you ended it all those years ago, the real reason, then just save it.”

His next words were hushed as his head hung low, but not low enough for Nara to miss the tears fall from his eyes. 

“It never would have worked. I-i have darkness inside of me. I eventually bring down everyone I love. I didn’t want to do that to you.”

“Please, Hoseok” - she stepped closer to him - “we all have darkness and demons, but maybe if you had given us a chance, our demons could have been friends. I don’t know why you think you have to hide yourself from me.”

“You were going to give up your future for me. I couldn’t let that happen. Saving you from myself was the best thing I knew to do for you. No matter how much it killed me to do it.”

“That would have been my decision, not yours, mine.”

“You should have run from me the moment we met, but you didn’t and I wasn’t strong enough to resist my feelings for you, I’m sorry. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish that I was someone different, someone better, and that we had met some other way. Then maybe it could have worked.”

Nara’s heart broke again, this time for Hoseok. How could he not see how amazing he was. He had a past, yes, but hell who didn’t? He was a good person, the best person she knew other than her father. It shattered her to see the turmoil in his eyes and realize that he only believed the worst about himself. All she wanted was to show him exactly how she saw him.

“For fucks sake, Hoseok stop talking about yourself like that. It’s not true.”

“What difference does it make? It is what it is and I’m not telling you any of this to make you care about me, but - -”

“But I do care. I fucking love you, Hoseok. Every part of me loves you, can’t you see that?”

He stumbled.

“Y-you still love me?” 

He had never expected to hear those words from her again. He couldn’t believe it. After everything he had done to her, she still loved him?

“Of course I do.” 

She closed the distance between them. She pressed a hand to his cheek mirroring the night they broke up and Hoseok instinctively leaned into her touch like not a day had passed. 

“I never stopped.”

It wasn’t clear who made the first move, but in an instant, their lips were sealed to each others in a frantic kiss. The conversation wasn’t over, but at the moment neither of them could find the right words to express the rush of emotion surging through them, and instead they let their bodies speak for them.

“Nara please, just listen to me. It’s going to be–”

She threw a right hook, aiming for his shoulder - even though she’d rather it be his face - and surprised herself when she actually made contact, cutting off his sentence, and making him stumble back in perplexity. Damn if that didn’t feel good, she thought. She hit him again, and again, and again, efficiently countering his attempts to block her blows.

“Stop, okay? Just stop!” 

Her knee jammed into his side; she was on a roll now. 

“Stop with the pep talks and the lectures.” 

She managed to match Hoseok’s speed and agility, successfully carrying out all of the techniques she had learned.

“We both know damn well that everything isn’t going to be ‘okay’, so stop!” 

Her barrage of kicks and punches didn’t let up and neither did her words, as she laid into Hoseok.

“And stop treating me like a damn wounded bird.” 

Crouching down she spun quickly with her leg out, tripping him, sending his legs flying from underneath him and landing him on his back, head hitting the mat and the breath pushed forcefully from his lungs.

She hastily pinned him beneath her frame like he’d taught her. 

“So j—just help me, okay?”

“I don’t think you need my help anymore. Whatever you were thinking of just now, channel that and use it. If you fight like that every time, with a bit more practice, you’ll be ready.”

‘Oh great’, she thought. All she had to do was channel her annoyingly unwavering love for him coupled with their sexual tension and frustration and use it every time she had to fight. No big deal, right?

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It was quiet at the loft today. Hoseok and Hyunwoo had taken Nara to one of the rings to finesse her fighting skills. An attack could happen at any minute and they needed her to be ready. None of the guys were planning to let anything happen to her while they were around, but some things are unforeseen and in those cases, Nara will need to be able to defend herself against an assailant.

Changkyun was god knows where, doing god only knows what. Something Hyungwon probably shouldn’t think about too much lest he drive himself into an early grave. Honeypup were off on their own somewhere sucking face. Another thing Hyungwon definitely didn’t want to think about. Honeypup was the pet name he gave Jooheon and Minhyuk. The latter thought it was cute but it ruffled Jooheon’s feathers as he thought it ruined their images.

This left Hyungwon and Kihyun alone in the loft. Hyungwon was reading on the living room recliner. Well, half reading, half napping to be completely honest. Kihyun was researching something online. Hyungwon was half-tempted to ask if he was looking at porn, but decided against the idea, opening and closing his mouth silently, much like a fish.

No one could get under each other’s skin quite like these two. When it came down to it, each would take a bullet for the other and considered one another as family, but neither of them would be caught dead admitting to that fact (even though everyone around them knows). Instead they chose to torment one another. In this moment however, Hyungwon decided he wasn’t in the mood for what was sure to be a melodramatic reaction to his joke and so he left it alone.

The rest of the afternoon went on like that, in silence. Well, what would be considered silence to anyone else. Anyone but Hyungwon. 

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?”

“That annoying ass sound you’re making.”

“Breathing?”

“Yep that’s the one. Could you knock it off maybe?”

“Oh excuse the hell out of me! My breathing offends you? You want me to stop breathing when I’m near you now?”

“Could you? That would be perfect. Thanks, you’re a doll.”

Kihyun tried for a few seconds to tamp down his temper, but it wasn’t working. Rising from his spot in front of the coffee table, he slowly made his way to Hyungwon who had by now forgone his attempts at reading and resorted to full on napping.

He stood behind the recliner gave it one good shove forward tilting the chair on its hinges and dumping Hyungwon smack onto the concrete floor of the loft.

“Rise and shine, dick!”

Kihyun took advantage of Hyungwon’s confusion and pounced. Quickly he was able to tackle him and put him in a headlock, breathing his hot breath onto his face.

“Hwaaa hwaaa am I breathing too loud?”, he asked. “Hwaaaaaa! How about now? Is it still too loud?”

“God, you’re disgusting and your breath is foul. What the hell did you eat?” Hyungwon lamented.

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Hwaaaaa hwaaaaa! Is this better?” Kihyun continued.

“Get the fuck off of me Kihyun, I swear to god!” Hyungwon managed to utter, trying to wriggle out of Kihyun’s choke hold.

This was the scene Hoseok, Nara, and Hyunwoo walked in on when they returned from the gym. None of them were surprised, already used to these two’s antics, instead deciding to simply stand back and let nature take its course. I mean hey who doesn’t love some free entertainment right?

Kihyun was momentarily distracted when the trio walked in, loosening his hold on Hyungwon who used this opportunity to shift and wiggle his way out of Kihyun’s grasp and make a beeline for the kitchen. Kihyun was much shorter than Hyungwon, but he made up for it in speed meeting Hyungwon in the kitchen at almost the exact same time. Hyungwon grabbed a cake off of the kitchen counter raising it above his head.

This wasn’t just any cake. This was “the” cake. The one that Kihyun had spent several painstaking hours decorating for Jooheon’s birthday dinner that night. They may be on the cusp of an all out mob war, but he’d be damned if he was going to let that stop him from celebrating one of his closest friend’s birthdays.

“Don’t you dare, string bean. I swear I’ll kill you!” 

“What’s the matter shrimp? Can’t you reach?” 

Hyungwon continued to taunt the shorter man, raising the cake up and down. Just then, Hyunwoo swooped in behind him, disarming him of the cake and setting it on the counter safely, but not before swiping a finger through the icing on the side.

“Yah! Hyunwoo-yah!” Kihyun shouted, utterly exasperated with his friends.

“What? Haven’t you ever heard of quality control?” Hyunwoo just giggled, licking the icing from his finger.

At that both Hoseok and Nara who were still playing the role of idle spectators, couldn’t contain their laughter earning a quick snap of the head in their direction and a hiss from Kihyun, which only served to make them laugh more.

Eventually their laughter ended and they found themselves awkwardly stepping back from one another as they realized they had been holding on to each other to keep steady amidst their outburst. While they were laughing, it seems that Nara forgot she was supposed to hate Hoseok and he momentarily forgot the overwhelming guilt he’d felt for the past six years over hurting her.