𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫
I suppose this marks the day Antagonistic ends. A triple update for my beautiful readers seems like the finale it needs ;)
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Where is he going? Donghyuck wondered somewhat curiously while eyeing one of his oldest members, Taeil, who was swiftly exiting the base. It appeared as though he was trying to be discreet, and how unlucky he was since Hyuck was very distracted as of late - always looking off into space where all the interesting things happened.
He wiped his sore eyes that hadn't seen sleep in days and stood up from the kitchen seat he had been perched on. A few of the others noticed his movement and glanced towards him...though as much as they'd have liked to, bothering Haechan when he was in this state was a very bad idea. They simply let him go.
As the brunette maintained a safe distance from Taeil who was now wrapped in a coat and had unusually slid a gun into his pocket, the young leader knew damn well something was up. Not only had the older retired from the field long ago, but he was a baseball bat enthusiast and an armourer. The gun? What was he trying to hide?
They walked on into the city, the shorter of the two totally unaware of his tagalong. The wind was pretty harsh on this day for some reason, perhaps because the river was running wild, or more unrealistically - because today felt like the end to something. The final chapter of the worst battle in history.
It seemed to take around half an hour to get to wherever this 'secret' location was, and with good reason. It was an abandoned train station in an absolute state. The smell of rotting wood radiating from the supporting old fashioned beams was strong, so was the clear scent of rat piss. The younger ducked behind a redbrick wall, taking a deep breath and tuning his ears into the the sound of his group's member breaking out into conversation.
It went something like; 'Is he here?' Then most of it was muffled from the low tones in which they spoke and possibly reduced due to the fact that Donghyuck had been listening to pitchy screams and gunshots his whole life - ruining his eardrums.
God, what the fuck are they talking about? He inwardly whined, and who's the other guy, anyway? Would it have hurt to peep his head around and risk taking a look? Were either of them sharp enough to detect his motion like various members of Jupiter were?
In the end he thought; fuck it. What do I have to lose?
Slowly and cautiously, he edged his body towards the edge of the platform's wall and glanced in the direction of the train tracks that were covered by the high steps of the boarding and departure standings. If one were to look down into the miniature canyon where the metal, parallel bars resided, perhaps they could've fallen. Supposedly there would be rat tails and fingers down there. Why did the brunette find that thought sort of amusing?
But those weren't his problem now, as it was the two men standing on the platform that intrigued him. One of which was Moon Taeil, a man who was surely about to get a kick in the arse for undermining his leader, and the other a face he thought (and had hoped) he would never see again.
Lee Jeno, that bastard, Donghyuck cringed, holding the urge to leap at them in and remaining still to listen a bit more. Unfortunately, lip reading had never been one of his skills, and the pair of them were so damn quiet. His heart was hammering against his chest from the anticipation, wondering what this little rendezvous was all about.
Would one of them whip out a weapon? Was this a drug deal? A negotiation? What the heck was happening here?
Eventually the snide chuckle of a third party filled the empty spaces of the station. It was quite familiar - too much so for Hyuck to be mistaken. His chest tightened in one harsh breath and he felt as though his ears were deceiving him. They had to have been. There was no way his beloved was behind this wall and breathing the same air as him.
"Look, if you're gonna shoot me, just fucking do it. I can barely hold Bandit steady without my finger," the culprit was loud, and boy did Haechan feel happy to hear it. He felt complete again after weeks of depression and emptiness. But it shouldn't have been Na Jaemin that made him feel this way. He was supposed to kill the man, for God's sake.
Jeno and Taeil were still quiet when responding, so it was pointless attempting to decipher the conversation any longer. He would've put up with the hiding more had the sound of a body hitting the ground not triggered a fear-streak within him. Growling, Donghyuck leapt out of his space and joined the trio on the platform, first pulling his two knives out and pointing them to both the tall ravenette and the short brunette.
"I knew something was up," he breathed out heavily, clearly stressed out. He looked awful, but that really wasn't the reason all three widened their eyes.
"H-Haechan," Taeil gasped, grip on his handgun tightening as it was pointed towards Nana's head. "What are you doing here?"
"Why the fuck do you think?!" The younger hissed. "You're so conniving, it's irritating!"
Jeno gritted his teeth, placing his hands in his long coat pockets, appearing unarmed. "This is a setback."
"No shit," the leader glowered. "Damn it, I should've killed you that night," he kept his voice low so to sound intimidating, "I shouldn't have been so lenient. And I guess that's a lesson learnt." He raised his dagger tauntingly, "Because I'll never be so fucking soft again!"
"Hyuck!" Jaemin snipped from the ground, looking weak as hell and totally defeated. Was he even fighting anymore? Why was he submitting?
Haechan hadn't wanted to look at the blonde, thus purposely keeping his gaze away. But the sound of his name falling from the other's lips had his eyes settling on the love of his life. "Shut up, Jaemin. I'm still thinking about what to do with you."
"Leave!" The younger hissed. "Unless of course, you want to watch me die...."
"Oh for fuck's sake, why aren't you fighting back?! Look at you, Jaem! What happened?! Where the hell have you been?!"
"Surviving," Jeno scoffed. "He's wasted his energy on getting back at you, and now he can't even snap at me like he used to."
Taeil lowered his weapon reluctantly, taking a deep inhale and letting it go slowly. "Since you're here...I'll follow your orders. I've tried to make your life easier, Haechan, I really have. But this is your call."
The brunette pursed his lips, resolve faltering now that the situation was in his hands. Even Jeno didn't seem pressed - more so curious. Jaemin, however, was staring back at him as though his eyes were his voice now, and he was speaking in a language only they could understand. Donghyuck didn't want to return the contact, for he was almost certain he'd break and drop down to his level, curl up in his arms and beg for him to have him back. That couldn't happen.
"All my life, I'd wanted to join a gang....." he whispered hoarsely, hazel irises glassy now as his infamous knives lowered and his stance relaxed. "I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, and work like a cog in the mechanics of a clock....."
The station was so quiet again, listening to his story too since it really hadn't been told often before. It was easy to get lost in the unforgiving current of time and to allow oneself to be swept away aggressively....but recalling the reason you stepped into that beating river was the most important thing.
"I never wanted to be the clock face, alright? To be the centre of attention for all to look at. I wanted to be behind it, twisting the arms, pushing the pendulum. Right now, I don't even know what I feel. I don't know what to do, or what to say," he looked to Taeil while on the brink of tears. "I'm just a kid. I haven't fucking grown up yet and now I'm faced with killing the guy I love. What the hell do I do......?"
Jeno was the first to move at long last, walking carefully towards Donghyuck and placing his own gun in his hand while letting the dagger drop. "All four of us are at the communal stage of agreement where we want Nana dead. Look," he tilted his head to Jaemin who seemed more than broken and degraded. "The outlaw himself has stepped down, and he's ready to go. He came here wanting to kill Taeil, did you know?"
The younger shook his head weakly, sniffling like a child.
"Well he did, and he was planning on murdering you too.....but he couldn't," the taller cracked a tiny attempt at a smile. "We talked a lot while waiting here, and the silly idiot can't even hold his weapon right. You can thank your psychotic ex for that."
Usually the smaller would've defended Renjun and come up with excuses as to why the Chinese man was the way he was. But for once, he couldn't have agreed more. At least that person was disconnected from the hell that was life. He'd chosen his own happiness over everyone else's, he supposed.
He'd chosen Mark.
"So," Taeil murmured. "Would you like to finish this horribly long story off, or will we?"
Actually, that was exactly was this was, right? A huge, aimless story. One with two star-crossed characters, ridiculous decisions, deceit. Would Hyuck have read that story if he knew the ending was this? Probably not. "Give me a second," he hummed, breaking away from the other two and moving to kneel down in front of his love.
"Look," he whispered, pulling the younger in against his chest for a hug. "As much as I want you to pay for the horror you sent me through....all of us through....I can't bare to watch you in this state. You've murdered my best friend, you tortured Renjun for life with the death of Mark, and you sent our family, Jupiter, into ruin once before. I always told myself I'd kill Nana in the name of justice for that family.....but had I known that wicked man was so fucking amazing for me, maybe I'd have thought twice." He pulled away slightly, seeing the regret written on the blonde's features.
Jaemin cupped his cheeks solemnly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I know you yelled at me a lot back in the shithole with Renjun....and you questioned if I had been real to you. If I was serious or faking it all along."
"Mhm," the brunette agreed, nuzzling into his cold hands. God he'd missed these hands.
"I promise I love you. I really really do. I'm a sociopath at the best of times and the worst of times, and I genuinely believed I had no soul. Mark always called me a dramatic liar, but I was sure of it."
"You do, Baby."
"I do now, that's the difference. I...." he grazed his thumb over the older's lower lip and faltered on his own words with how pained inside he felt. He wanted this nightmare to end. "I think you were my soul....always keeping me grounded. These last few months have been the best of my life. So thank you for that."
"Always," Hyuck smiled faintly while closing his eyes and basking in Jaemin's presence. "You're the best mistake I've ever made, and the worst, Asshole. I love you for it, and because I love you..." he dejectedly pulled away to stand back up, "I'm not going to watch you die."
The tears that started to wander down his nose and cheeks were so very miserable, but not even the ruthless Taeil could fault him on them. He was an emotional boy, after all.
"Promise you won't look back," Jaemin insisted. "And please don't mourn over me, okay?"
"I'll promise no such thing," the older tried to put on a cheeky smile, but he couldn't. He couldn't muster the same expression he'd used the day they met on the promenade.
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