FLAMMABLE, A YokTae Story

Unforeseen Encounters

They were all startled when Yok came out of the room hollering for everyone. As he relayed the fuck-up they just did, the group was rattled to discover they had taken the wrong boy. Black and Gram quickly returned to the club to investigate. There, they found Ray partying with his cousin Bison. They also noticed Gaipa and Ayan discussing and worrying about Longtae, who had been unreachable for hours. Black and Gram secretly took photos of the other four, sending them to the gang. How did they not know this information when they were tailing Ray for a while? Unknown to the group, before moving with his cousins and coinciding with the month they were tailing him, Ray stayed with his father to arrange all his things and bid the mansion he had grown up in goodbye. After all, this is where all his memories of his dead mother and father who were barely there were.

Back at the hideout, Yok volunteered to stay with Longtae, assuring the others he could handle it. The rest of the gang took the night to think through the situation and rest. They had to come up with a better plan and without rest, no one was thinking clearly and emotions were running high.

As the door closed behind the last gang member, the silence in the room grew thick. Longtae sat on the cot, trying to process everything. He could hear muffled voices arguing outside, but they eventually died down. From the yelling and the indignation, he could tell these were not professional kidnappers. That was a relief, but it was still dangerous, and he was still very scared. Things like this never happened in the mountains where he grew up, and no one took interest in him back when he was just an ordinary small-town boy. The stakes were high now; his grandfather was rich and could afford a ransom if only that was what these guys wanted. But it wasn't, making him more afraid of what awaited him. What would happen to his father if he died? He was the only one his father had left. What about Grandpa? He had been more sickly lately, and even though he still had four other grandsons, Longtae was certain that his grandpa had a special fondness for him. He had to find a way out before things got more complicated.

Longtae slowly made his way to the single window in the room, testing the latch to see if he could crawl out. Just as he was about to make a move, a husky voice whispered in his ear, "Where do you think you're going, little rich boy?"

Startled, Longtae immediately moved back and almost fell, but a warm arm snaked around his waist, breaking his fall. He hadn't even noticed Yok coming in. At mere inches apart, Yok's warm breath fanned Longtae's already heated face. He could see the sparks in those dark eyes dancing merrily as Yok questioned his lame escape attempt with an amused grin.

Flames of desire roared through Longtae as he noticed how perfectly he fit into Yok's arms, the touch kindling a fire that leaped to life at the sight of Yok's handsome face. At that moment, all he wanted to do was forget everything and kiss his abductor senseless.

Yok, sensing the shift in the air, gently set Longtae back on his feet but didn't let go completely. "You should be more careful," he murmured, his voice softening. His large eyes were dark with his undeniable desire for the boy. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Longtae's heart raced inexplicably at the softly spoken words that sounded too much like a soft caress. There was an undeniable electric tension that cackled between them and that is not just from the near fall but from the presence of the other.

Schooling himself to act rationally, Longtae imagined how Bison would get out of this situation if it were him. But for the life of him, he couldn't muster Bison's bravado. What about Ayan's calm manner then? It was worth a try.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice still quivering despite the false calm he tried for.

Yok sighed, his gaze dropping for a moment before meeting Longtae's eyes again. "It's not about you. It's about your cousin's father. We need him to confess his crimes. We have tried to do everything, but he has managed to thwart all our efforts so far. We were desperate. I am sorry..."