02. with me (1/1)

The time will comeYou’ll find out who I really amAnd we’ll pretendThat we’ll be friendsOh, an ideal lie, you only last a little while  Minhyuk and the others had made big progress with Dino over the last two days. The child had started to open up more, all thanks to Minhyuk’s motherly words and actions towards him. As much as possible, he would keep the kid away from both Wonwoo and Seungcheol, knowing pretty damn well that they heavily opposed the idea of keeping him around. He wasn’t quite sure why; was it because they had gotten used to their group with just them as the members? Was it because they didn’t trust Dino? Well, who wouldn’t blame them, right? During the few years of camaraderie and sick adventures they’ve been through, they were bound to have made some enemies that wanted to wipe out Wonwoo’s group from the face of the earth Or was it because they didn’t want to bring a kid into this kind of business? Ever since Dino had come around, he had been much livelier for both Minhyuk and Shownu. It was as if they were playing pretend that none of this—their life, their job, was fucked up. It was as if they were playing house, like they had a pretty little home, and that they were living a fairy tale where they fell in love, had kids and lived happily ever after. Seungcheol was disgusted beyond words and chosen not to speak to the child after their last encounter two days ago. Their gazes would often lock, though, which of course sent the frail little boy cowering to his Minhyuk hyung’s side, and the elder of the two would always shoot a glare towards his direction. Jihoon, of course, was completely neutral to the whole kid fiasco. Though unlike Seungcheol who openly displayed his obvious opposition to the situation, Jihoon opted to try and tolerate the kid. Jihoon’s occasional acknowledgement to the kid’s presence would come in the form of small nods as greetings towards him in the morning, or simple requests like grabbing something he needed from the artillery, or whatever it was that he needed. Though Minhyuk showed confused opinions on how Jihoon treated him—practically like a little kid slave, he was more glad than upset that Jihoon was recognizing the kid’s use. And then there’s Wonwoo, who surprisingly, was doing way worse than Seungcheol. He had shot out a few fierce words about Dino, explaining to Minhyuk that he was of no use to them, and that they should quickly send him out. Having talked with Dino more often, Minhyuk knew that the kid had no family to come home to, so he was completely opposed to the idea. Ever since Wonwoo and Minhyuk’s argument, they haven’t talked as much, which of course, worried Shownu. “Minhyuk,” Shownu calls out for the shorter male as he watched him drowning himself on the computer. Minhyuk barely gave him a response, merely shrugging Shownu off. “Minhyuk.” Shownu’s voice was a lot firmer the second time around, and Minhyuk couldn’t be bothered to answer. The two shared a room, and it was pretty awkward to wallow in silence that Shownu wasn’t used to at all. “You should talk to him, you know.” Shownu was referring to Wonwoo, of course. At the mention of the name, Minhyuk finally acknowledged the other man’s presence and his desperate calls for his attention. He knew that his hyung was only worried about him, and that he’s probably right—he should talk to Wonwoo about Dino. “I can’t, hyung… He’s going to get rid of him if we talk. My decision stands still. I want Dino to stay with us.” Over the course of the short time that he had spent with Dino, he had grown greatly attached to the boy. Probably because Dino had given him a taste of the childhood that he had longed for ever since, as he didn’t really…enjoy the days of his youth. “Now just shut up and hug me, because I feel grumpy. I don’t want to talk about this. We can do it later.” Shownu was oh so weak, and he was quick to wrap his long limbs around Minhyuk’s waist from behind. Needless to say, Shownu was still pretty much upset about the tension wafting around the base, but he’s glad that he has Minhyuk to make him smile. “What are you even doing, you’ve been on that computer for at least two hours.” Shownu lifts his head and he lets it perch over the other’s shoulder to glimpse at whatever it was on the screen that had kept Minhyuk so busy. Given their job description, it was a must for them and the rest of the group to keep a low profile, staying away from anything that posed a threat to their existence, or their identities. They weren’t exactly allowed to make Facebook or Twitter accounts and all that social media mumbo jumbo, even going as far as training themselves to function everyday without a phone. The only exception to them using a mobile phone was that if it was a dud, the kinds that you only use once, then throw it right after. Ironically, despite the amount of money that they earn (illegally, of course), they were forced to forego the pleasures and luxuries of life and lived normally. “This…dumb movie I downloaded. It won’t open. I was really excited to watch it with you and Dino, too!” Minhyuk continuously tapped on the left-click button of the mouse, his lips easily jutting into a pout as it popped out the same message every time he clicked onto the sketchy looking file. “Maybe it didn’t download properly?” Shownu knew nothing about technology or the Internet, let alone figure this file out. Minhyuk begins to whine out of pure frustration until a sudden makes Shownu withdraw his arms from Minhyuk’s waist and turn around to find little Dino peeking into their room. “Hyung…?” Dino emerges from the other side of the door after opening it, clad in a black shirt that Jihoon lent him. Everything about him shouted kid, from the doe eyes to the child-esque get up to his adorably short height. “What is it, Dino?” The kid was still obviously trying to get used to the nickname they gave him. Nicknames were a must, after all, especially for the members of the group that usually appeared in public like Shownu, Coups and Woozi. Though Wonwoo occasionally joins them in the activities outside the base, he chose not give himself one, since he was at home more often than not. “Aish, I give up!” Clearly numb to his surroundings and Dino’s presence, Minhyuk cursed out loud, his fist gently slamming against the keyboard of the computer. Dino’s initial reaction was to flinch, having never seen this kind of reaction from his dearest hyung. For a moment, the kid was actually scared that he had bothered Shownu and Minhyuk during their “special times.” He would occasionally catch glimpses of Minhyuk and Shownu’s undying affectionate for each other though they weren’t necessarily hiding it, and he would immediately feel his whole face flushing at the sight—or even just the thought of it. He vaguely remembered having been this flustered since nobody really paid much attention to him during the times when he still attended school. Dino wasn’t the coolest or the most popular kid around, though there were rare times when people would be attracted to him. Despite having witnessed most subtle touches and their hushed whispers, nobody really minded. Like, really minded. Jihoon and Wonwoo would occasionally groan or roll their eyes and ask them to stop, but the mostly meant it playfully. Nobody really said anything about what exactly their relationship was; nonetheless, they seemed happy and that’s what mattered the most. “W-what’s wrong, hyung…?” Dino approaches the duo; his eyes round with curiosity as he took careful, small steps towards the huddled bodies hunched over the computer set. Dino had always loved computers, tottering with the Internet and, cracking codes here and there for games that he wanted to play, but never had enough money to buy. Soon enough, he had mastered the language that Information Technology majors spoke. Most of his friends asked him to crack games for their personal use, and they would always give hymns of praise to Dino, telling him that he was such a great friend. Being the naïve person that he was, he acknowledged each compliment and genuinely believed that these people were his friends. That wasn’t the case, of course. The 4th installment of the Uncharted series had released earlier this year and everybody was hyped about getting the game. Of course, Dino had started working on how and where to find cracked games to download, as he was a big fan of the series, too. Though before he could do his homework about it, his supposed “friends” has asked him to crack the game for them and when he told them that he couldn’t yet, they had abandoned him like they weren’t friends at all. Dino fell into a pit of frustration and began shutting himself out from other people more than he already had. Because of this, it was definitely refreshing Dino to find people who looked as if they were genuinely worried about him and his well-being. “Ahh, this stupid movie I downloaded, I waited for it to finish for like five hours and when it finished downloading, some weird pop out keeps on appearing every time I click on the file. I’m so upset, I wanted to watch it so bad with you and Shownu hyung!” Minhyuk’s mindless blabbering and complaining was so abruptly disrupted when the sound of a familiar movie’s opening suddenly bursts through the computer’s speakers.   Somewhere along Minhyuk’s endless chatter, Dino had focused his eyes on the screen of the computer where he saw a familiar pop up message—one that he had encountered far too often for him not to be able to recognize. Without a word, he just silently typed in a bunch of weird looking codes after right clicking the file, and suddenly, the movie Minhyuk had been whining all day about was playing. “Oh my God.” Minhyuk’s gaze fell to Shownu’s face, and his expression was the same as his. They felt triumphant. Dino’s going to stay and they both knew it. They found a reason to.  Jisoo zips up his bag, feeling fully satisfied with the bunch of clothes he had stuffed inside. He had made sure to pack a variety of clothes that both him and Jeonghan could enjoy trying on for today. Jeonghan was about a size or just a half smaller than Jisoo, so he was more than happy to lend him some of his clothes, especially the ones specifically used for certain special occasions. He tosses the filled up bag into the backseat of his car and headed straight for Jeonghan’s apartment so that they could get ready for today’s event. Meanwhile, Jeonghan sleept soundly in his bed, still knocked out as he once again missed the alarms he had set since he was up until around 7  in the morning to finish a paper that he needed to submit before 9 am. After submitting it, naturally, he decided to at least take a light nap and wake up after lunch to get some sleep in his system for today's event. Jisoo wouldn’t be surprised if he arrived at his best friend’s home only for no one to respond as he rings the doorbell. Jisoo arrives a full three hours before the scheduled inauguration time at exactly 6 in the evening, hopping that it would be long enough for them to prepare themselves and have an early dinner before the event. “Jeonghan?” He called out while knocking softly against the hard wood of the entrance door. Jeonghan’s home wasn't as grand and as big as Jisoo’s, and he only possessed the furniture he knew he needed. Once you step inside the his home, it barely had any decorative furniture except for a small, potted plant right beside his doorstep used strictly for tasteless décor. In his living room sat a couch that could fit four people and right across it stood a small, wooden coffee table, a red cloth draped over it with its ends hanging off each edge of the table. Jeonghan didn’t even bother getting a television set, instead buying himself a tall bookshelf that he pushed up against the wall across the couch. He had a small kitchen, too, and it was complete with the necessary pots and pans, an electric stove a coffee maker and a rice cooker. Apart from those, there was one small bathroom and finally, his bedroom. The walls looked dull with the dirty white paint covering the whole apartment, and the whole place barely had any color in it. Having the apartment decorated would definitely cost money, so that’s probably enough explanation as to why he didn’t even bother. Jeonghan seemed happy and content anyway, and that’s what mattered. After a few more knocks, there was still no response. Jisoo tried calling as well, but it would just carry on ringing until the automated operator spoke through the other line, telling Jisoo that the person he was trying to call was unavailable at the moment. After several attempts of trying to contact him, Jeonghan finally picks up. “Hello…?” His best friend’s voice was still groggy, and a picture of Jeonghan with bed head, his eyes half-open and completely dazed flashed inside his head, enough to make the boy smile. “About damn time.” Jisoo chuckled as he then further tightened his grip over his bag, readying himself to be welcomed into his best friend’s home. “Crap.” Not a moment too soon, Jisoo hears a round of footsteps frantically fussing about inside until it grew closer and closer. “I am so sorry,” Jeonghan apologized the moment the door flew open; and just as Jisoo pictured, his hair was a mess and he was still in his sleeping clothes, his phone still tucked against his ear. The sight made both of them laugh as they realized how dumb they must have looked, speaking into their phones when they were standing directly in front of each other. Though Jeonghan still felt bad about having made Jisoo wait for like, the nth time in the span of their friendship, he still felt light hearted enough to have a good laugh with the boy when Jisoo should really be shouting at him for waking up so late. “It’s alright. Besides, I didn’t wait long.” Jeonghan takes a side step, making room for his best friend to walk in through his narrow door way. Jisoo automatically and very coolly declined all of Jeonghan’s attempts to help him with the bag he was carrying, not even bothering to say anything and simply shook his head. The homeowner closes the door before moving ahead of his visitor, leading him to the couch until Jisoo has made himself comfortable on the seat, before promptly heading towards the kitchen to fetch something to drink for Jisoo and himself. “So… Today’s the big day, huh.” Jeonghan starts as he pulled out a two cans of cola from his fridge, but not before sighing inwardly though making sure Jisoo couldn’t hear. He took a moment to stare at his almost empty fridge. His resources were slowly depleting, and his allowance wasn’t coming for another three days. The only food left inside his fridge were some side dishes like kimchi and a