got my lip mark on your teeth (and your darkest thoughts in me)

3. ni-ki and sunghoon

ni-ki doesn't know how he ended up in a social circle as its youngest member, but he's pretty sure that it all began the day his mom sent him off to south korea to live with his older cousin's family, because she was too busy dealing with his sisters and her ensuing divorce.

he can't say that he didn't hate it, back then. he had been in his early teens, all gangly limbs and pent-up rage wrapped up in a bundle of angst, and even the prospect of spending an indefinite amount of time with his favorite cousin hadn't been a very appealing one, against the backdrop of his entire world falling apart at the seams.

but, of course, life had to go on (as it always does). he spent countless evenings battling against heeseung for the crown of the ultimate virtual football champion, got to know jungwon and sunoo and jay, met park sunghoon (the extraordinary disaster of a man that he was), and by the time he entered high school, he could confidently say that he wasn't going to lose his balance as easily, when the rug would be pulled out from underneath him, next time.

(he was wrong.)

"you got a boyfriend?" he hisses at heeseung, taking care to keep his voice down so that jake sim can't hear him, over the sound of the shower in heeseung's bathroom. "you got a boyfriend, and you didn't think of telling me?"

"you were busy with mid-terms," heeseung says, shrugging. "it's not that big of a deal."

"i can't believe you," ni-ki hisses some more. at this point, he sounds more like gollum than a normal japanese teenager. "you're dead to me, hyung."

"how have you become more dramatic, since last year?"

"i demand a sleepover with jake hyung."

"you can ask him when he gets out. he'll probably agree."

"a sleepover which you aren't a part of."

"...riki, come on. hyung's sorry he didn't tell you, earlier-"

***

"ni-ki?" ta-ki, his best friend, pokes his head into the student council room while ni-ki's in the middle of negotiating with the student body president for increasing the dance club's funds so that they can splurge on a better sound system. "some college kids are asking around, for you."

"whom did you piss off, this time?" harua asks, popping out from behind ta-ki.

"the guy with the moles seems scary," maki says, shuffling out from behind the other two and sending ni-ki a nervous glance. "there's a guy who looks like a cat, and another with squishy cheeks, too."

ni-ki turns back to the student body president, who's watching him with raised eyebrows. "uh... this conversation is not over!" he says, before hurrying out of the room. "i'll be back, ej hyung!" he calls over his shoulder, receiving a defeated sigh in reply.

"are you going to get beaten up?" harua demands, following after him, with ta-ki and maki hot on his heels.

"don't be silly," ni-ki says, buttoning up his blazer. "of course not."

"why are you fixing your uniform?" ta-ki asks, doubtfully. "are you going to try and intimidate them?"

"if he wants to intimidate someone, shouldn't he mess up his clothes more?" maki protests.

"there's going to be no fight," ni-ki says, with a calm he certainly doesn't feel. "i didn't piss off anyone, and those guys aren't here for revenge, either-"

"now, that's a lie, if i have ever heard one," a velvet-smooth voice stops ni-ki dead in his tracks. harua bumps into his back, making him stumble slightly. "you stole something of mine, and i'm here for revenge."