#* hanbin: threads.

where: one of the gala's bathrooms :D

it's entirely too quiet, if he ignored the running of the facet and the quiet whimpering of the man who was still keeled over in the corner of a handicapped bathroom when he'd last seen him. at the very least, his mind is too quiet, anger and the slip of his emotions taken out on the first guy to piss him off. it's a blessing he's wearing black, not that hanbin owned clothing in many other colors to begin with, dark fabric concealing any splatters of red and leaving hints of it of his work on his neck, what was visible and messy washed away with water. his knuckles are painfully red, a mixture of his own blood and whatever had come out of the other's face by the time hanbin was finished staining the entirety of his hand.

suddenly, he can't exactly remember which restroom he'd pushed his victim into, far more concerned with it being empty and not occupied by some self-righteous level one. perhaps the attendees should be happy his approach to his anger today had been physical, and not in the form of blowing the fusebox out. this party, grand opening, or whatever you could call it, wasn't anything new to hanbin. except for it being occupied by far too many people he'd rather never see. scratch that, it was exactly like every corporate event he'd ever been to.

location: a bar

hanbin finds peace in the comfort of a regular bar, mindlessly losing count of which drink he was on of the night. it was ironic, considering how busy and rowdy the area was, though he probably preferred it to the quiet. in the quiet was where the parts of himself he didn't quite like festered, in the form of his work or whatever his mind conjured up. a crowded, loud bar was exactly what he needed, even if the three-piece didn't exactly fit into the aesthetics. he is at peace until the empty seat is filled by someone who hasn't put him at peace for years. his dear, older brother.

he supposes the circumstances are better than the last time, and the one before that as well. seongyeol had impeccable timing, catching hanbin at his very worst with no chance for redemption. this time perhaps, was a toned-down version of the passionate anger he was used to displaying, sullied down to snarky annoyance with the help of some whiskey. an audble sigh leaves his lips, glancing up to the bartender filling up his glass again. "you should watch out. he has a bad habit of torching bartops," hanbin says dryly, acknowledging his brother only in the form of a thumb shot in his direction.

he'd debated throwing the tacky envelope in the trash when he, like everyone else who had some kind of ability to make them special, received the invite to some prestigious opening of a research organization. hanbin had better things to do, even if it entailed working late just like he always did. anything was preferable to seeing the faces of far too many people he didn't like. knowing all of this was about eo's, the existence of cerberus was quick to follow, and how he'd rather not acquaint himself with them. except, in his typical fashion of being a hypocrite, he's come with seen.

hanbin holds a cigarette to his lips, a faint puff of smoke trailing behind him as he stares up at the cerberus headquarters. he thinks the architecture is ugly, and though he'd rather throw himself off a roof than walk in that god-forsaken building for sightseeing reasons, he's sure the interior is just as outlandish and excessive. he's just having a little look, that's all. certainly not making note of anything he sees around him.

hanbin isn't a bad person, he just makes bad choices. repeatedly. frequently. decisively. perhaps it's the job that's jaded him or that the idea of being good has long lost its meaning, but the world was dog eat dog. if you weren't taking advantage of someone, someone was likely taking advantage of you. there was something extremely advantageous about someone who could temporarily kill a person. it was a dream for hanbin who did nothing but teeter between the line of good and bad.

if the countless ignored text messages weren't proof enough, perhaps his general attitude towards his dear, old brother and corporation that full of nothing more than bullshit and propaganda. how much did seongyeol reaching out count for when their relationship was beyond repair in hanbin's eyes? even after nearly dying, he still couldn't empathize with the choices the older had made. hanbin was many things. he was liar, and he was corrupt, and perhaps even a little rotten in his core. but he didn't abandon people. not the few that he could care for beyond superficial means. at some point, he'd made the choice to live his own life, even if the image of his brother was something he couldn't escape. and judging by the sound of footsteps behind him, a distinct feeling he'd grown to hate, he couldn't avoid seongyeol either.