Angel or Devil (Yeonjun x Mark FF)

one

Several Years Earlier

It was a cold blustery afternoon in the surburbs of Gangnam, South Korea. The lights were flickering on in the windows, there was a smell of frying beef, and the stormy clouds promised a cosy rainy night ahead.

Ten year old Mark Lee stood out amongst the gloom in his bright yellow coat, a new duffel one that his father had bought him just the day before, bouncing his swirly rubber ball that he had won at school that day.

He was as happy as could be because he had been credited at school for good attendance and behaviour, something that his father would be happy about as the family prides themselves on good reputation. In fact, there was no other option for Mark and his brothers other than to show themselves well.

Mark's family were part of the Dojaejungs, or to locals, "The Angel Mafia". They were very threatening and always went out of their way to steal, cheat, and even kill in the most sly ways possible. As a result, everyone in Gangnam lived in fear of the Angel Mafia and made sure that they were never the unlucky person to cross their path.

The only people who dared to disobey the Dojaejungs were the Si-Hyuks, or the ironically named "Devil Mafia". This group made it no secret that they were into criminal activity, and raged rampant throughout the streets on their motorbikes, welding knives and guns. They were deadly enemies with The Angel Mafia and stayed out of each others way, going so far as to send their children to different schools. A run in could be deadly.

Mark gave the rubber ball another violently heavy bounce. It jumped high into the air...and into the dirty drain at the end of the street. "No!" Mark screamed, running to save the ball, to no avail. He crouched down and saw it floating in the dirty sewer water. Tears filled his eyes as it bobbed up and down at him under the orange street light.

He knew he couldn't reach into the gutter because he would make his yellow coat dirty, and Mom would slap him very hard. But then how would he tell Mom that he had won a prize for good behaviour at school? His mom would just say he was a liar and slap him anyway. Mark was well and truly stuck.

"Hey, what are you doing there?" Mark looked up to see a boy with a bowl cut and a blue rain coat running towards him. Not wanting to expose his vulnerability, Mark roughly wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Nothing," he replied. To sound grown up, he added, "You should be at home at this time."

The bowl cut boy ignored him and peeped into the drain. "I saw you playing with that ball," he said solemnly. "You dropped it, didn't you?" Mark tried not to cry, and turned his face away. "Sort of. It was just an accident."  The other boy crouched down and tugged at the grate that separated the drain from the rest of the world. Without a complaint, he lay down and fished for the ball, retrieving it from the slimy mess and wiping it clean on his rain coat.

"There you go, pal," he said with a smile. "Make sure you hold onto it." Mark took the ball, barely believing that he had it back, before giving the boy a hug in a rare act of emotion. "I-i thought- I thought I  was done for! My mom-"  The other boy pulled away, but not unkindly.  "It's okay. I just like to...um..help out, you know?"  Mark extended a hand. "Um...I'm Mark Lee, by the way." Boastfully, he added, "Nobody knows this, but my family are the Dojaejungs."
The other boy's face flickered with brief doubt as he replied, "I'm Yeonjun-"

"MARK!"  A man in a long trench coat at the end of the street-Mark's father- stood looking truly frightening. Mark felt the omelette he'd had for dinner at school come up in his throat. Without saying goodbye to the other boy, he turned away and ran to Father, who slapped him sharply on the cheek. Through the corner of his eyes Mark saw his new friend taking off at top speed.

"Do you know who that was?!" he hissed into Mark's tearful face. Mark shook his head, biting his lip as he tried not to let the tears spill. Uncle grabbed hold of Mark's ear with two thick fingers. "That is one of the Si Hyuk Mafia children, you stupid boy! Who knows, he was probably getting information from you to tell the enemy!"

"I'm sorry, dad-"

"You'll be more sorry when we get home." Mark's dad tugged a wailing Mark along the cobbles, leaving the street in sad silence.