╰─➤ you and i, survivors of the same kind,
but we're the only ones dancing on the sun
➳༻❀✿❀༺➳
the night had finally arrived.
all day the dolls and jeno had been racing around like madmen getting ready for the reception and completing the little tasks they'd been set to assure a smooth evening. the tailors were finished with their outfits and were quick and precise about a bit of makeup and their hair. the reality of what he was about to see made donghyuck anxious and excited at the same time, in a way that ordinarily would've made him sick. but he didn't have time to throw up, he had to be ready to go.
now standing in the late twilight on the front steps of the mansion, the seven men steeled themselves as the two sleek, black cars were driven around from their garage. everything was as it needed to be. but after all the pushing and pulling it took to get to this point, hyuck was praying he hadn't been ignoring divine intervention from some sort of god who knew this wasn't the right time.
"let's run through it one more time," renjun said again as he fidgeted with donghyuck's suit lapels and cuffs and the gems sparkling along his green waistcoat. "who are the top three mafias?"
"garnet, amethyst and topaz," the omega sighed the same rehearsed answer he knew appeased him.
"so who are you to avoid?"
"most gang leaders and members, but especially jang jiho and yoon," he responded, "i know, jun. you need to calm down."
"i can't calm down!" the raven-haired adult groaned and went back to messing with his own beautiful attire. donghyuck had been a fan as soon as he saw the cream getup — an open blouse with the sleeves cut open to reveal his arms, which was under a male corset with white slacks and a white jacket he simply wore over his shoulders and hadn't put his arms through. small, hand-stitched yellow flowers decorated that jacket and brought about an air of innocence that the harem knew renjun didn't have. "and who are you to stick to all night?"
the blonde wanted to give a snarky remark about hanging out with topaz just to spite him, but he couldn't conjure the energy to argue with him. "mark...or you."
"exactly. easy."
"i know, right?"
renjun didn't appreciate the attitude and only stopped fussing when jeno finished up a conversation with doyoung who was placed in charge of keeping everything going for the few hours they'd be gone. "all good," their leader hummed and had one hand in his navy blue trousers pocket and the other holding his matching jacket over his shoulder as he felt it was too warm to wear it yet. suspenders connected to the waist of his pants ran over his arms in that old twenties style. he wore a black waistcoat with a golden vine motif subtly woven through it to tie it all off. "alright people, let's get this party started."
"where are we going again?" donghyuck asked, being escorted on renjun's arm towards one of the vehicles.
"it's ruby's turn to host the ball this year so..." jaemin responded and went with chenle, jisung and jeno towards the other car. "it's another countryside sort of place, i've heard."
"shouldn't be too far," jeno assured them.
mark, renjun and donghyuck ducked their heads as they sat down into the back seats and buckled up. the smell of hair gell, cologne and the faint tinge of renjun's pheromones immediately intoxicated the space and everything just smelled so expensive. hyuck grew giddy with anticipation.
the rear view mirror caught his attention and he couldn't help but admire what he saw. his hair was parted down the middle but had been blow dried, subtly curled, and was getting longer around the back. he knew other omegas pulled off styles like this, but it always a jump-scare when he saw it on himself. and the diamonds the tailors had threaded through his fringe brought out something primal inside him that just wanted to preen and spend hours staring at his reflection.
"you good?" renjun hummed from beside him, reaching out his hand to touch the side of donghyuck's eye. "careful, eyelash."
"thanks."
"you look lovely. don't stress." the younger boy couldn't bring himself to admit that he was already well aware that he looked a treat and his anxiety did not, for once, stem from his self-consciousness.
"you look lovely too." renjun smiled, and it was the truth. his dark hair had been mostly pulled back and loose strands fell and curled over his forehead and temples. darker eyeshadow lined his eyes to contrast the paleness of his attire and two tiny, fake pearls were placed artistically over his cheekbone.
the car started and mark lowered the window a little to allow air to circulate. "man, i hope tonight goes smoothly. cross your fingers."
"does it not usually?" hyuck wondered aloud.
"well, it's hit and miss," renjun replied. "depends on who attends these things. the big three, which you know," he narrowed his eyes and the blonde nodded eagerly so he wouldn't bloody ask again, "they're usually the best behaved. we're older, you see, and the younger gangs which have been anointed more recently tend to feel they have to make a show. it's embarrassing for them, honestly."
"if that kid shows up tonight, i'll lose it..." mark sighed and stared out the window as darkness chased away the dying shades of purple, orange and pink. his shoulders were tense beneath his feminine-inspired top. he and jaemin were a sight to behold in their outfits, and mark's was the finest silver. it had the general shape and design of a flapper dress with all its glittery beads and hanging jewels, although fit the waistcoat category. the neckline was so low the buttons of his shirt beneath could be counted and he'd left the first couple open. diamonds hung and caught the light in his ears and sparkly shadow kissed the edges of his eyes. his hair was parted down the middle too, but was less shaggy than donghyuck's and was gelled to stay still — especially his fringe — all night.
"that guy from tourmaline?" renjun enquired.
"mhm. i never know what to say."
the omegas stayed quiet as he pondered and seemed to get lost in the abyss of black now darkening the window. the car hit a speed bump and hyuck jolted forward. "ow."
"what happened?" renjun touched his shoulder.
"nothing. my ass hurts and sitting for long periods of time makes my tailbone just as bad." this made the elder shut up and simply hold his hand reassuringly.
"i think we'll be there soon."
"mhm."
the manor drew closer as the cars pulled up its driveway. ruby, although not as rich and influential as garnet, still had the capacity to show off. yang inho, the leader, was a good few years older than jeno, probably breaching his forties now. his son was set to inherit the mafia in the next decade and the underworld was rumbling, ready pounce if that transition didn't go smoothly.
"wow, this looks nice," mark tapped renjun's thigh and stared out at the building looming over them. "ours is cooler though, obviously. but still."
"stay close to us," the omega yet again pestered donghyuck who was starting to grow deaf to these warnings. he didn't even respond this time, instead played with his earring — one of the three he now sported. each piercing had been as painful and crude as the first, but he stopped complaining. even he knew when to quit playing a losing game.
the first car stopped just ahead and theirs parked behind it. the driver jumped out and ran around to open hyuck's door and take his hand. "this way, sir. watch your footing on the stones." he felt like he was in a movie.
he accepted the help and found easy enough balance in his new shoes to turn and take renjun's hand who in turn took mark's as they followed each other out. the trio took off towards the front steps before jeno's group, making it to the top and looking back down to survey the premises.
mark let out a low whistle. "ruby hasn't hosted one of these before. i'm impressed."
"is this what heaven looks like?" chenle joked as he led the other three up the stone steps. "three angels bathed in light, looking down upon me?"
"and now for your retribution, you naughty boy," mark made the motion of pushing him as he got closer and the younger beta chuckled, shoving him back and holding onto his bicep when they stopped play fighting.
"how was your trip?" jaemin asked them as he walked between jeno and jisung, his arm linked with each. "comfy?"
"relatively," renjun agreed. "i'm intrigued to see how this goes."
"same," jisung sighed. "i heard go narae will be here tonight...and chenle hasn't crossed paths with her yet since he was released..."
"let's not say anything with a view that it might not end in tears," jeno hushed them and they dropped the conversation. chenle and mark had galavanted off ahead, leading the way to the front door.
inside was just as glorious as outside. the rich shades of red from the rugs, old tapestries from a bygone era and curtains made the wide open spaces feel warm and inviting. the marble was clean and unscathed, the brass of the banisters along the staircases and ornaments was polished and the staff were dressed nearly as well as the guests. donghyuck hugged renjun's arm closer as they all passed through a massive door and emerged on a balcony of sorts overlooking a ballroom that must've been built into the underground, from the looks of it. they hadn't come up any stairs, so the two sides leading downwards onto the dance floor had to have led below ground level.
"how fascinating. it's western, like ours," renjun murmured from beside him and gave hyuck's chest a gentle pat. "don't get lost. these places tend to fill up and become unrecognisable."
"you joined only a year and a half ago, right?" the blonde asked softly as they were encouraged by staff to start their descent down the left side of the balcony. "how many parties have you been to?"
"a few. as you can probably tell, i'm not actually all that close to the other boys, aside from jeno. it's taken me...a while, i should say, to adapt to this life. my first party was a disco type thing about half a year ago. i was deemed too 'feral' to go to any before then."
"oh."
"mhm," the raven-haired boy sighed and they followed jaemin towards the side of the dance floor to discuss the plans for the last time before they all parted company. "so this is my fifth, i would say. i went to the solstice reception last december and it was pretty much just like this. we have two ballroom themed events of the year, unless someone hosts one themselves, and the rest are less stuffy."
"that's cool. there's like a whole other world here that nobody outside of the underworld would know about."
"you two, over here," chenle pulled them in and the seven stood in a circle for a moment.
"right, listen for two seconds before we split up," jeno began and ran a hand through his wet-looking hair that had been meticulously styled by the tailors. they'd have cried had they seen him. "we all know who to look out for. i'll do the talking so if anyone approaches you individually, make sure to play the game. dance, pretend you have no idea what politics is, don't instigate fights—"
"we know," jisung whined.
"—keep near at least one other doll. you guys do know, but i worry," their leader sighed and loosened his tie a little. "anyways, if anyone important tries to talk to you boys, try to play nice. they like to suss out garnet in funny ways and hyuck and renjun might be the targets tonight."
"we'll be together," renjun assured him.
"good. good," jeno breathed out and nodded to himself. "okay, i'll be around if you need me. i trust you all, so have some fun."
"yessir," the six of them playfully saluted and started to disperse into the mixture of people already starting the festivities. jaemin hung back with the alpha and put on the perfect mask of clueless calm, like the biggest thought at the forefront of his mind was whether his nails matched his baby pink corset.
donghyuck kept that expression in mind as he tried to replicate it on his own face. the fun of this game was that aside from the fact everyone knew they were lethal weapons, nobody knew they were clever on top of it.
"dance with me," renjun whispered close to his cheek, steering him to the dance floor and parting company from mark and jisung who went to find some drinks.
chenle stood on his own by a pillar, holding a glass of champagne and overseeing the guests as they arrived. those who openly communicated with each other were often boasting strong ties and alliances, so he kept note of it all. the subtler interactions, in the corners of the room or between lesser gang members on the floor acting by proxy of their leaders, were also telltale signs of collaboration. he played with the strap suspending his slacks, sporting nearly all black but for the mulberry undershirt. his suit jacket was buttoned up, unlike the others, because no matter how confident he got and how strong he grew each month, he couldn't shake the memories of his emaciated stomach and how awful he felt he had looked only a couple of years ago.
he consciously tried to stop fidgeting.
his hair was loose and crimped even when that hadn't been the look of the twenties. they had taken creative licence, sure, but the outcome had been wonderful. his dark suit was stitched through with silver bird patterns like some of his favourite designs on renjun's hanfus, and his waistcoat had jewel buttons to match the diamonds threaded through his black hair and pressed beside his right eye. he looked every bit the picture of a mafia leader's lover as the others.
"long time no see," a boy nodded in his direction as he approached. chenle's watchful gaze snapped to him and he sneered.
"suppose that mean's pearl is here."
"obviously. gemstones can't decline, remember?" he was tall and lanky with bleached highlights. chenle knew him from back when he was a drug tester, as he too had been one of the many subjected to the tests. he looked better now, though, and the beta dreaded to think why.
he ignored him.
"oh come on, not even going to ask why i'm here? we were cellmates for a while, weren't we?"
"quite frankly if you've made a recovery like i have, then i can already guess why you're here, kid."
"kid? we're the same age," he pouted and looked hurt. "i take it you're too proud now to remember old names. whatever, i didn't come here to reminisce on our shared history." the boy took a glass of wine from a server and tilted his head to eye chenle closely. "narae's coming. just wanted to let you know."
"uhuh? figured that one out when i saw you."
"not scared? she owned your life for five years."
"she probably doesn't even know who i am."
the boy smirked, but it wasn't malicious and held more restraint than anything else. chenle didn't want to unpack what it meant, but he'd spent his life trying to decipher people to stay alive. "oh she does," he mumbled, "she's been wondering what jeno ever did with you. she's fascinated by that man."
"indeed, he is rather brilliant."
"well, as wonderful as talking to you has been," he shook his head and started to move away, "i've warned you she's around and curious so now i don't have to feel weird about seeing you anymore."
"and why was that?"
the boy hesitated, looking towards the dance floor and taking a sip of the wine. "i don't know. i guess a bunch of us wondered what happened to you when you left. you were like a wild animal, but you stood up to those doctors back in the day. do you remember?"
chenle gave him an indifferent blink and feigned disinterest.
"ugh, you haven't changed. whatever—"
"did you do what i had to?" chenle suddenly asked before he actually thought about the words and had time to form them. it was too late to take them back, so he swallowed and leaned against the pillar behind him. "to get here...did you get cosy with a higher up?"
he seemed surprised and paused his departure to eye him suspiciously. "yeah, i guess i did."
"ah. that's all i wanted to know. have a good life, kid."
chenle walked away as quickly as possible before he got sick from the memories.
jaemin stared out at the dance floor, watching renjun and donghyuck spin each other and laugh against each other's cheeks and have almost-kisses they were too shy to go through with. he wished renjun would let him get that close. he hasn't spent a lot of time with donghyuck as of late either. he just wanted to go out there and join them, but because he viewed the dolls as an extension of himself and a piece of his soul, he did the things they didn't want to do. he swallowed their mockery about his close relationship with jeno, their irritation about his upbringing and history. he stood in long meetings so they didn't have to, trained them so they could defend themselves, treated them like family when none of them had known such a thing.
he did it all to fill a gap inside himself that longed to have unconditional love with no strings attached.
jeno held onto his waist, chatting casually to a higher up of ruby about the great preparations for the reception. the conversation was dull and jaemin's cheeks hurt when he couldn't smile genuinely. his eyes were glassed over from true boredom rather than the fake stupidity he usually had to put on. the fingers on his hip were tapping out a rhythm subconsciously, and he moved to place his hand over them, feeling the rings against his palms.
what good was his stunning platinum blonde hair styled with tiny, pink glass flowers and thin braids through his fringe when he couldn't stand under the chandelier to dance and watch them scintillate. he felt there was nearly no point in wearing the handmade male corset covering his cream, embroidered blouse with small butterflies across the chest on either side of his collarbones when he'd just be standing around, clearly unavailable to talk to. he used to love messing around as a teenager before jeno was properly anointed the leader, using his looks to stir mischief.
"you look lovely tonight, jaemin," the ruby member suddenly brought him back to the present. "as always."
"thank you," he smiled tightly and laced his fingers through jeno's on his hip, "i do love a good party." when i'm not a breathing ornament.
"you're the treasure of garnet," the man chuckled and continued to prattle on about the current affairs. did being special mean he had to be so bored?
"would you like a drink, love?" jeno asked softly, taking two anyway and handing one to him. jaemin accepted it graciously but could've done with heavier stuff than champagne. he'd need it to get through the evening.
"hey, you're keeping up better than in the exam," donghyuck teased as renjun danced slowly with his back to his chest, enveloping himself in the beautiful, summertime fruits smell that always followed the blonde omega. hyuck held onto his waist, speaking against his neck as they watched everything around them.
"i'm a good dancer. you surprised me back then."
"yeah? sounds like an excuse." renjun gently jabbed his elbow into the boy's gut and the airy laughter that fanned over his neck made him shiver.
"don't question those who know better than you."
"mhm, noted. wouldn't want to suffer the wrath of these," donghyuck responded and drew his hands along renjun's arms before holding up his wrists in front of them to check out the silver, unassuming bracelets. "do you wear these everywhere? i've never noticed them."
"i do. i created them myself, a long time ago."
"wow. it's made me realise i don't know what weapons you all use. are those going to be mysteries i learn along the way?"
renjun huffed a small laugh, turning to face him and looping his arms over his neck to join the slow dance like everyone else. "if you'd like. i could tell you, either."
"nah. watching you rip out a heart with claws was cooler than if you'd told me."
the elder boy stared at hyuck with a pensive expression that often came out when they were alone together. it was like he had a hundred things to say and didn't even know where to start or how to say them. was this where the others came unstuck when they talked to him? they couldn't read the frustration in his cute, frowning brow?
"what are you thinking, jun? stare at me like that any longer and i'll explode."
"i was simply wondering how you're attractive to me. as an omega, you should technically be my competition. why is it easier to talk to you and be honest than with a beta?"
the blonde wasn't sure himself. "i'm just irresistible, i suppose." renjun slapped his chest with a scoff and then reached up to play with one of the gems in his sandy fringe.
"do you think you're attracted to me? be honest."
"this is getting deep. you haven't even had that much to drink—"
"just tell me."
hyuck traced his tongue over his lower lip and sorted his feelings about renjun into a manageable line. he wasn't sure he loved people yet, and didn't know if he would even recognise it if he did. he's been so cynical and mistrustful for so long, but for certain, he found renjun undeniably attractive and was as crazy about his pheromones as an alpha might've been. at least, he imagined he was. "i do," he whispered and led them into the next dance. "i think you're beautiful, and you light me up like any alpha."
renjun pursed his lips, looking down at their feet and not realising his ears went pink when he blushed as well. donghyuck wanted to point it out but felt seeing the boy's parting was just as cute. he kissed it.
"careful. i've got gel in."
"means i can't run my hands through it then?" the blonde wriggled his brows and threatened to undo renjun's hair as he dodged and nearly bumped against another couple. the only thing to stop their tomfoolery was the sudden peace in chatter that followed the arrival of a large group of people trailing down the staircase from the balcony. renjun held donghyuck's hands to keep him still, his gaze scrutinising as they identified the new arrivals at the same time.
"go narae..." hyuck said under his breath. she was even more beautiful in person and wore an interesting naughties outfit comprised of a pair of low-waist jeans with yellow butterfly patches stitched onto one of the thighs and a glittery yellow strapless top that fell loose over her hips. her hair was as dark as a starless night sky and was parted to the side, as expected of that decade, with a yellow dyed steak. she was so disarmingly gorgeous hyuck nearly forgot she was a mafia boss.
behind her, amidst the cluster of people, were none other than yoon and jang jiho.
"let's go," renjun whispered, trying to push the blonde off the dance floor.
"that's really them?" he gushed without any grace and nearly tripped when the elder boy dragged him. "they came together?" renjun didn't seem to want to clarify any of this as he led them to a food table.
jiho was more handsome than even his nice photos cared to depict. his hair was still long enough and auburn, though he'd gelled the sides down to mimic the mullet of the eighties. his eyes were as sharp as a cat's and lined with dark pencil, and his smile was one that could lead you into unfavourable deals. into rooms with beds. into corners you'd never find the way out of. his black band t-shirt had no sleeves and displayed his slender muscles while his hands remained in the pockets of his huge, loose jeans.
on the other hand, yoon had chosen a very early decade like garnet. she wore a waistcoat and suit as well, but it wasn't easy to discern the exact time. she was beautiful, striking with those amber eyes and maroon hair held back in a french braid and, donghyuck noted last of all, she was incredibly tall. so tall she might've surpassed even jisung with those legs. her gaze was indifferent and cold, peering over a mask covering her lower face. it was shaped like that of a ninja's from the the pictures, arcing up around her nose and falling dramatically down her cheeks to hide behind her ears which had a number of steel piercings. to look at yoon was to want her attention, it seemed. someone like her didn't give it so easily.
"where's mark and the others?" renjun wondered aloud, looking around subtly. "we shouldn't be out of sight of each other."
"um...i don't think that's our first priority," donghyuck whispered desperately under his breath and tugged at the cuff of the shorter boy's sleeve. "is he coming over here?"
"oh...oh no."
jiho ignored everyone trying to capture his attention as he slid by bodies and directed himself straight towards the pair of omegas. they stood stock-still, not sure what was supposed to happen when these things came to pass. a rival gang leader alone with the dolls? didn't sound common.
the people around them went quiet.
➳༻❀✿❀༺➳
...to be continued
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