#dezz writes

“I want you to tattoo me.”

              Illumi did not tear his eyes from the pages of his book to where the man was lying ever so comfortably on his bed – too comfortably, probably, for Illumi’s taste.

              “I don’t recall ever mentioning an interest in such an activity,” he responded. He flipped the page.

              The man on his bed didn’t move. Illumi, while previously focused on the yellowed pages of his book, was reluctantly growing curious about the man’s words. He was a bit of an enigma; he once called himself a magician, but Illumi saw him as more of a figment of his imagination. He wondered why he never bothered to kick him out – shove him out of the window of the third story, he once plotted – but the man was simply too charismatic. Too slippery.

              Illumi forgot where he was on the page. He let out a breath, folded the corner of the page, and placed the book on top of the nightstand behind him.

              “I would like one on my back.” Illumi looked over at the man this time. His skin was ashen, contrasting with the bright redness of his hair. They were about the same age, Illumi believed, but the man never told him anything about himself other than his name.

              “Hisoka,” he spoke in one breath. Illumi was standing now, looming over the sprawled body of his nighttime visitor. The man was smiling to himself, clearly pleased at Illumi’s acknowledgement of him.

              He sat up on the bed. “Willing to look at me, an illusion? Even to say my name, although it is a lie? My, my, am I lucky tonight.” Hisoka pulled a card out of nowhere and began to fiddle with it. “Shall I request it again? On my back, please.” He threw the card at Illumi, who caught it between two fingers. It was tossed aside without a glance.

              “I won’t even ask how you knew about my needles. It only further proves you’re nothing but a horrible joke of a hallucination.” Hisoka laughed out loud, and Illumi was alarmed at the way it echoed in his ears. Though the last thing he wanted to do was admit it, this man sitting on his bed was real.

              “If I am so, unreal as you say, then,” he raised his right hand in front of him, as if he was waiting for Illumi to take his hand. “Why don’t you try it?” Illumi felt sick listening to his saccharine voice while the magician’s gaze was molasses covering every inch of his skin. It was grotesque; his twisted, bone-colored fingers reaching out for him, his thin lips curling into an untrustworthy smirk. It was a look that promised Illumi’s ruin if he allowed it.

              All the while, a betraying factor – a vile curiosity that desired the man’s puzzling and yet compelling presence – left him resisting the urge to murder the impossibly existing man from his mind. Turning around, Illumi went to find his needles.

              The room was a dim yellow. Illumi felt a distance from the rest of the house and his family he did not know beforehand. He never felt a desire for separation, but there was a peace about it. He was alone in this realm, save for the mysterious visitor lying in wait.

              Hisoka was still sitting upright on his bed when Illumi finished preparing to give him a tattoo. As he inspected the needles, Illumi asked him, “So, what sort of tattoo do you want? A spider, perhaps?”

              “A spider? Interesting choice, but it isn’t my style.” He waved the suggestion off, still in thought. “But I just can’t decide.” He pouted like a child, and Illumi’s eyebrow twitched. He placed the needle back down, creating a clattering noise, and sternly ordered Hisoka to lie down.

              The ashen skin on Hisoka’s bare back seemed to vibrate, and Illumi caught eyes with Hisoka’s sultry leer. There was something deeply unsettling about it, as if he was trying to contain a deeper beast within him.

              Illumi looked away from his face and inspected his skin once more. His pitch black eyes showed no change after what he saw in his visitor. Illumi’s eyes were flat, emotionless – that was the way he had been raised, and he believed it to be correct. On the other hand, Hisoka’s eyes were like a bottomless amber pool, and Illumi had almost drowned.

              “Surprise me,” Hisoka suddenly said, his eyes like a panther, although the other did not ask. “What do you think of me, Illumi?” Though he was under Illumi, the man appeared poised to strike.

              There was an urge to counter, so commanding that the owner of the voice could not object. “You are giving me a shocking amount of power by putting your back against my hand,” Illumi hovered his fingers just above the skin; enough to elicit shivers that lowered Hisoka’s head. His back was exceptionally muscular, and there was a power Illumi felt that, at the thought of controlling it, excited him.

              With the other hand, he produced a needle. The magician’s face was hidden. “Receiving a tattoo in this manner is dangerous, you see. There will be pain. Can you take it? I could very easily slip… and kill you. Perhaps that is what I intend to do. Would I not have every reason to? To take this opportunity you have so kindly given me?”

He had never been this loose-lipped with others, even his own siblings. The Illumi that lived in this large mansion, the Illumi that lived amongst his family – that wasn’t him now. This Illumi allowed alluring strangers to stay in his room and seduce him into this unsightly persona. He couldn’t stop and it made him wonder if this was creeping under his skin the entire time.

It was too late. Hisoka seemed changed, as if Illumi’s words flipped a switch in him. His face was contoured by the flickering of the candlelight and red strands of hair fell into his face. Eyes that seemed to absorb all the light in the room were directed into Illumi’s own.

“If that is the case… please do try and kill me, then.”

“Did you order some chicken?” One of the men called out, cleaning out his ear and rubbing it on his uniform. His blackened fingertips made new smudges on the clothes as he made his way towards his coworker with the phone.

“Yeah, they’re working on it.” The other man replied and stuffed his phone into his pocket. It was the late afternoon, and these men hadn’t had a chance to grab something to eat until just then.

The door’s bell rang, signaling someone entering, but it wasn’t the delivery person like they had hoped. He was strikingly tall, with eyes that seemed to poison all those who looked into them with fear. His styled hair gave him a pompous impression as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to stroll through the auto shop. The men all stopped to look at him, knowing who he was and the power he commanded.

“Hello, men.” Choi Young Do smiled and swayed back and forth on his feet. “Mind taking a look at my bike?”

Almost immediately, two men rushed out to bring the motorcycle into the shop. Young Do smiled deviously and began to browse the merchandise. With summer just beginning, it was a good idea to update his vehicle.

Meanwhile, a few other men hung around their own area further back. Young Do at first didn’t bother to pay any attention to their nonsense. His eyes continued to marvel at the items, even when the bell rang and the door opened.

Light footsteps jogged in, and Young Do could see a brown ponytail out of the corner of his eye. He smelled chicken, and assumed delivery.

“Here’s your food. That’ll be…” The young teen allowed the girl’s voice to become a blur, until the men started to harass her. Choi Young Do wasn’t unfamiliar with sexual harassment; he had seen it enough times in his father’s world, after all. He wasn’t planning on intervening unless it got worse, as it would be bad for publicity if the Zeus heir was witness to something so heinous without doing anything. Luckily, she retaliated.

The delivery girl merely shrugged them off and somehow managed to put the grimy middle aged men in their places. Young Do almost smiled at the fearless, no-nonsense tone she used in her words. By the time he looked up, she was already jogging away in that loose yellow t-shirt. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her brown tresses sway with every step she took. Young Do almost regretted not speaking to her.

Instead, he turned around to see the men scarfing down the chicken. He snatched the bag from them and looked for the name of the restaurant and the number. He clicked his tongue and took his phone out to take a picture of the brand.

“Oi, why do you want a picture of that?” One of the men asked.

Choi Young Do smirked down at the picture on his phone. “I may order some chicken sometime.”

. . .

It was the first day of summer, and Cha Eun Sang was absorbed in her work. Young teenage customers were more plentiful now that they actually had time to fool around. Her manager always said people get hungrier around summertime. It truly did not brighten Eun Sang’s mood at all, unfortunately.

Cha Eun Sang was on her break, taking a look through her SNS feed when her manager called her up.

They handed her a bag of chicken with a receipt. “Deliver this please!” Eun Sang wanted to groan; her feet hurt, sweat was pooling on the back of her neck, and she felt a headache on the rise. However, she knew not to complain when this job was keeping her mother and her sleeping inside at night.

Eun Sang took the bag and took off on her bike. She looked over the receipt and was surprised to see the address. “Zeus Hotel…?” She scoffed and wondered why someone staying there wanted delivery chicken. “I swear, if this is a prank…”

When she arrived at the hotel, she caught the eye of the receptionist, who almost sneered in her face until Eun Sang showed her the receipt with the room number on it. The woman looked like she had seen a ghost before handing the paper back to her and allowed her passage.

Eun Sang kept her eyes to the ground in front of all walking through the lobby. She wanted so badly to melt into the ground and disappear, but fate was never on Cha Eun Sang’s side. When the elevator doors opened, a girl around her age with sharp bangs and a prideful mask appeared in front of her. Without giving her as much as a glance, the girl was gone, heels clacking against the tile. Eun Sang felt her heart beat again, and she sighed, thinking only of getting out of there as quickly as possible.

Eun Sang felt her ponytail brush against her neck as she rushed over to the suite. Once there, she rang the bell and began tapping her foot, her heart in her throat. When she heard the door click and open, she shoved the chicken into the recipient’s face and quickly recited, “Thank you for buying our chicken. Please order a—“

The man in front of her cut her off by slowly pushing her arms down. He clicked his tongue in a condescending way, something Eun Sang found completely terrifying and undoubtedly insufferable. When she looked up, she saw into his eyes. They shined down on her, almost, and it burned a new feeling inside of Eun Sang. She froze in her spot, and couldn’t find the incentive to speak.

“Why in such a rush? Stay and chat for a bit.” He finally said. He leaned against the wall, making him shorter but still taller than her. The boy raised up his hand, intending to shake it. She wordlessly lifted her own, not sure what to think.

“Who—“

“My name is Choi Young Do. And you?” He asked, glancing over her nametag. She was expecting him to answer it for himself, but the silence said otherwise.

“Cha Eun Sang.” His smile widened, and he shook her hand happily. Finally, Eun Sang recovered from her initial shock and ripped her hand out of his. “What do you think you are doing…”

Young Do didn’t seem to be fazed by her hand being pulled away. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and stood up fully once again. “Can’t I chat with my new friend?”

“What friend? I don’t see anyone here.”

“Try a mirror.”

Eun Sang scoffed and shook her head. “I have to get back to work.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Where’s Cha Eun Sang’s summer?” She didn’t reply, rather she crossed her arms. Her patience was running thin, somehow this guy managed to annoy her more than she would have liked. Young Do pursed his lips and opened the bag that he had taken from her hands. “Oh, there’s way too much food in here. Mind helping me eat this?”

Eun Sang started to walk away, but he touched her arm and pulled her around. “Ah, ah, ah, you wouldn’t leave without this now, would you?” He held up her cell phone. Eun Sang immediately checked her empty pockets.

“How did you…?!” She was beginning to feel bullied by this man.

Young Do bit his lip at the sight of her displeased face. “You’re not very observant, Cha Eun Sang.” he tossed the phone back to her.

“Who are you? How are you living here?” Eun Sang stuffed her phone into her back pocket.

Young Do clicked his tongue once again. “Why do you ask so many questions?”

“I’m simply getting to know my ‘friend’, Choi Young Do. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Eun Sang crossed her arms. Young Do raised both of his eyebrows and held back his smirk.

“You shouldn’t play games with me, Cha Eun Sang,” he leaned in closer to her, his hot breath brushing her ear. “I’ll devour you.” He whispered seductively, which caused her breath to be caught in her throat. The unfamiliar feeling was beginning to wave throughout her body. She forcibly shut it out, however.

Eun Sang stepped backwards. “Devour that chicken first.” She finished, and marched away from him, ears burning red. Choi Young Do watched her until he lost sight of that ponytail. When he closed the door, he set the delivery on the counter and pulled out his phone. Young Do dialed a number.

Eun Sang felt her phone buzz as she left Zeus Hotel. When she looked at the contact name, she rolled her eyes.

[OPPA calling…]

“Choi Young Do,” A threat hung in her voice.

“When you say my name like that it makes me want to cry, Cha Eun Sang. Try my contact name.”

“I’m changing it.”

“Ah, how disappointing. Well, at least I get to keep you as Sexy Chicken Delivery G—“

She hung up.

. . .

A few days had passed since Young Do met his new friend. He would text her a few times a day, and nearly all those times he would not get a reply. Young Do stared at Eun Sang’s contact information. He resolved to get a picture next time he saw her.

In the meantime, Young Do stood at the counter of his favorite convenience store, holding a bowl of noodles in front of him. Each day, his friend Myung Soo begged him to join him at clubs, but Choi Young Do held no interest whatsoever. He had begun working in the hotel kitchen, where Young Do felt he could forget everything about his father and the wedding and immerse himself into work.

Young Do locked and put away his phone, glancing up at the street through the window briefly. He took a second glance, however, when he noticed a certain girl wearing sweatpants, holding a white bag with a floral design walking right past the store. She was half asleep and in a hurry, but Young Do instantly recognized her.

“Eun Sang, I wonder where you’re going.” He whispered to himself. He didn’t have enough time to catch up to her, unfortunately, and by the time he had gone outside she disappeared. He cursed a little and went back into the store to heat his noodles.

Young Do was just about to tear open the bowl when Eun Sang wandered into the convenience store. He stopped and watched her; eyes shut, she paid for a drink, and then stood unknowingly right next to him and downed the entire bottle in record time. A smile was growing on his face as he watched her recycle the bottle and go outside only to land on one of the outside chairs and fall asleep, one arm laid upon the table. Young Do took his bowl and went outside to sit with her. He opened his noodles and began eating them, all while keeping his eyes on the sleeping girl.

She looked like she had just woken up, however her skin seemed to glow. Her soft features made her seem delicate, despite her personality. Her lips were pink and looked all too supple. He wished to see the fire in her eyes when she spoke his name.  

“Why do you fall asleep in public like this?” He tried to kick her awake. “Makes me want to protect you.”

All of a sudden, two grade school boys appeared in front of them. He paid them no mind until they began crying, and he rubbed his eyebrow in annoyance.

“Hey! She’s sleeping here, shut up brats!”

“Mommy! Mommy!” Choi Young Do rolled his eyes. Eun Sang, still asleep, wore a disgruntled look on her face as she stood up and walked away from the two noisemakers. Young Do buried his face in his hands and scolded the two boys. Just then, Myung Soo showed up, and after a few comments, Choi Young Do left in his car.

. . .

Park Hee Nam waved her goodbyes to Madame Han before heading off. Earlier that day, her daughter dropped off a bag containing some items her mother forgot to bring to the house. With an urgent text, Eun Sang made a quick trip to deliver them. With the bag on her arm, Park Hee Nam made the trek back to her own home. Leftovers from the Tan residence now filled the bag, and Hee Nam was excited to show her daughter the delicacies of the conglomerate.

Hee Nam was one to avoid eye contact while walking on the street. Give someone a bad look, and it would just go downhill, especially in her case. Instead, she focused on the ground in front of her. The rest of her senses were on alert for any danger around her. Park Hee Nam kept to herself, but she left no stone unturned to keep her out of trouble.

Young Do was walking himself back home when he saw a middle aged woman hobbling ahead of her. At first, he paid her no mind, until he saw the bag on her arm. He stopped abruptly and narrowed his eyes. He had seen that bag before.

Hee Nam sensed a presence off to the right behind her, coming in fast. She at first tried to get out of the way, but it was apparent this being was looking for her, and her heart began to race. She looked up at her offender and found a beanstalk of a boy walking towards her, hands stuffed in his pockets, his coif of hair bouncing with each step. She had no idea what a boy like him had anything to do with her.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I am sorry to stop you, are you on your way home?” He slowed into stride with her as they walked together.

What was odd came after—she took out a cell phone and began typing characters on it, and then showed it to him.

[Yes. Who are you?]

Young Do bit his lip and cocked his head, wondering why she wasn’t speaking. “I couldn’t help but notice the familiarity of that bag,” he gestured to the white tote with the flower pattern. “May I ask your name?” Young Do was careful to be very respectful to her because she was older, as one of the things his father made sure to teach him, even if he had to beat it in him.

[Park Hee Nam. Why is this bag familiar?]

They continued down the street together. Hee Nam looked up at the boy who seemed to exceed her by two feet. Her mouth was slightly open because of the shock of talking to him.

In the meantime, he smiled and shook her hand. “My name is Choi Young Do. I saw a friend of mine carrying the exact same bag this morning. Do you have a daughter, ma’am?”

Park Hee Nam furrowed her brows and stared at the boy with curiosity.

[You know Eun Sang?]

Choi Young Do smiled almost angelically and nodded. “Yes, she is my friend. So you are Cha Eun Sang’s mother?” Hee Nam nodded, not bothering to type out her reply. In Young Do’s mind, the pieces began to fit together.

[Are you a friend from her work?]

“Something like that.” They walked and talked a little longer, until they reached Hee Nam’s home.

[Thank you very much for accompanying me. I am glad you are friends with my daughter. I would like for you to join us for dinner sometime, to thank you.]

He smiled when he saw her message, and gladly accepted her invitation. Just then, he received a phone call.

“Dear stepsister, to what I owe the honor?”

“There’s a family photo shoot. Mother just informed me.”

Young Do narrowed his eyes and took a few steps away from Hee Nam, and whispered, “What does that have to do with me?”

“I want out. Do it.”

After some more haggling with Yoo Rachel, Young Do bid his farewells to Hee Nam, promising dinner another day. He would have really enjoyed seeing the look on Eun Sang’s face when she saw him with her mother, but the recent news required immediate action.

“A rich, extremely attractive heir meets a poor, part-time girl and her mute mother. Original.”

. . .

“You seem happier, Mom.”

I just met your friend today, she signed.

Eun Sang stopped folding clothes to look up and raise a brow. “My friend? Who? Chan Young?”

He seemed very important. He was tall and handsome, and his eyebrows were expressive. His name was… Choi Young Do, I believe.

The younger daughter dropped the shirt she held up and snapped her head to her mother. Suddenly, her stomach felt very sick.

Eun Sang? Are you okay? You know this boy, don’t you?