#blue kang

“Back in my day, we regarded arranged marriages as the highest standard that one could uphold themselves too.” The cold voice of Mr. Jung rings through the largely empty office of his “empire”. The pair of twenty-something year olds standing before his grandeur mahogany desk share a glance with one another, gaze darting, Maddox’s eyebrow raising, and Harlow’s shoulders shifting in the most subtle shrug he could manage. 

For a moment, Maddox Kang isn’t quite sure what to say about the situation, but within seconds, the poor boy bursts into a cacophony of chuckles, head tilting back as if in disbelief at what the middle-aged geezer had to say about marriage.

Harlow, on the other hand, tries to be a little bit more subtle in approach, hiding his look of amusement behind thinly pressed together lips and the sparkle he can’t hide in his eyes. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Maddox finds himself jeering after pulling himself out of the mock hysterics over the situation that happened to land in his lap. “Are you implying that it is some honor or a rarity to be offered an arranged marriage by some old man I’ve never even met in my life-” A sharp jab in his ribs from Harlow cuts the other boy short enough for Mr. Jung to interject.

“Do you know what you are saying? I am offering you a path to instant wealth and power and you are mocking my proposal? At what expense, your own future?” The angry voice of Mr. Jung rises in volume with each passing question, brows furrowed furiously at the prospect of the boys taking no value from his very serious request. “Of course it’s an honor, it’s not every day you have the chance to inherit a fortune-legacy, not to mention my daughter is a gem!”

“Yeah and she’s too old for us, just like you’re too old to stay in this business.” Harlow quips, and although there is no venom or jeer in his voice, and only amusement, Mr. Jung finds his frustration spiking with these two insolent boys. 

“Too old? Nonsense! My wife and I are almost-”

“Mr. Jung, we don’t need to know how big the age gap is between yourself and Ms. Maria.” The older (by only a few months) of the two boys cuts the man off this time, voice more stern than before. It almost feels like dangerous information at this point. “Your money or tainted name does not entice us, Min-Han.”

Oh, so he’s pulling the first name card now. (Maddox thinks, light, genuine concern beginning to color his eyes over his buddy’s choice of words.)

“I know why you invited me of all people here, and we both know of the legacy that was left behind, correct? I don’t need your money and if I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t have seen through your tricks to absorb my legacy as well, am I right? Mr. Jung? This isn’t about helping some ‘poor boys start their careers into being rich’. This is about gaining more and more like the greedy man everyone else says you are.”

“You ungrateful bitch!” A fist slams thunderously against the mahogany table and while Maddox takes a step back from the angered man, Harlow doesn’t flinch. 

“Struck a chord, I see?” This time, it’s Maddox who couldn’t help himself but blurt out. 

“You. Get out.”

When both boys turn to leave, the click of a tongue stops them in their tracks. 

“Harlow, get out. You, in the bomber jacket, I didn’t say you could leave quite yet. I wouldn’t want you to lose out on an opportunity for greatness and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because your friend there doesn’t know common etiquette.”

Although Maddox hesitates for a second or two, a firm grip on his arm tells him he’s not staying for much longer, despite the man’s request. 

“No. You’re not going to be given any time individually with Mads. He has nothing to do with this, regardless of what you think.You haven’t done any proper research if you think Maddox has anything to offer at all in your world and there is no way in hell I’d let you just take advantage of him, either.” The annoyance drips like honey now in Harlow’s words and without waiting for any response- the young man’s dragging his friend out of the luxurious office. 

Maddox doesn’t protest of course, although the dissatisfaction of not being able to get a last word in or reaction out has him itching to do something more (out of line).

But he’s quite grateful for his friend’s firm stance, knowing money was an easy way to swindle into anyone’s heart– including his, if he weren’t careful enough. 

[x]

The excited chatter of two boys reaches a third’s ears as he sits lounged in the shared couch of their common areas, a book of something in his lap. 

Blue Kang.

“Can you believe the audacity? I walked right out of a kdrama at that moment!” Maddox’s voice is loud and unapologetic as he steps through the door of their shared living space, a laugh still present as Blue looks up from his book; already disrupted by his younger brother’s presence, as per usual. 

“Don’t get too excited now, I think you’re about to be a hot commodity in their world, once word gets out. That guy’s competitors never miss a chance to swipe something from right under his nose.” Harlow chastises gently as he bumps shoulders with Maddox. “Just stick to your hockey, will ya? What would your parents say if you were married out before Blue was?” 

“You act like hockey is the only thing I’m good at or my parents care at all about that shit.” Maddox shoots back teasingly, “For the record, I am a hot commodity.”

“No, one- you’re dumb for choosing to objectify yourself like that, and two- be careful what you wish for, dumbass.”

Again, although the words are tough, their little banter fazes no one who’s known the boys for more than a few hours. They didn’t mind the ‘tough love’. 

“...So, who’s getting married to who now? …What the fuck?” Confusion oozes from the couch and the pair at the door whip their head around, for the first time acknowledging Maddox’s poor brother accidentally listening in on the conversation. 

“Oh nothing, no one is. Go back to kissing your boyfriend and don’t worry about us.”