YOON | Prequel to THE8

FOUR

| CHAPTER FOUR |

Jeonghan pulls the sleeves of his jacket further down his arms, the cold air on his exposed skin much like a reminder of how he's slowly outgrowing it.

It's sad. Jeonghan frowns when he puts his hands in his pockets.

Aside from that, he's here, right where Seungcheol told him to meet him at.

And this place is scary.

It's scary, and it's frightening. It's every little bit of the word sketchy and as soon as Jeonghan was in eye view of this building, he'll be honest and say he did turn around more than once. But in the end, he's here.

It's quiet. The building creaks and settles while Jeonghan just stands there, kicking at a tiny gray rock amidst the black ones, chunks of concrete next to the sidewalk, the dry, brown grass just to the right of them.

"You showed up." Jeonghan whips around when a voice comes out of nowhere, Seungcheol walking down the path with his hands in his pockets.

Jeonghan takes a step back, holding out a hand, "If you have a gun or something—"

"Of course, I don't." Seungcheol insists, pulling out his hands to surrender, "It's just cold." He eyes his jacket, "And I think you might need a bigger—"

"It's fine. I'm fine." Jeonghan tugs his sleeves down further, "So, what's up? Why'd you want to meet me so bad?"

"I told you, I want you."

"That tells me nothing." Jeonghan uncrosses his arms, taking a couple steps forward, "You show up out of nowhere and tell me you want me to join you. For what? A play date? A scavenger hunt?"

Seungcheol cracks a grin, "A group. A gang." Jeonghan stares blankly as the words finally fall past the man's lips, "Pledis— That's what we call it."

Jeonghan blinks. It feels like he's silent forever, "A gang." He repeats, another round of silence following because he really can't take this seriously, "You called me down here and wasted my time to joke about how you're in a little gang? Seriously." Jeonghan rolls his eyes, "This is probably the most pathetic thing I've ever fallen for—"

Jeonghan sucks a sharp breath as a gun is aimed right at his face, the blunt end of a pistol pouting right to the center of his face.

His heart feels like it's just imploded.

Jeonghan's arms immediately shoot up in surrender, hands by each of his temples. He's sure he's as pale as paper, "You said y-you didn't have a gun."

"Just a little pressure," Seungcheol ignores him, a sharp expression on his face, "One tiny tap and you're dead."

Jeonghan's eyes welt up with tears. He's so afraid he can't even breathe properly. His eyes burn as the fear leaves him frozen, unable to lift even a foot to run.

"But," Seungcheol waits a moment before pulling the gun back, "I trust you."

Seungcheol tosses the gun on the concrete, the muzzle hitting the tip of Jeonghan's shoes, nice, pretty ones he'd swiped from one of those fancy department stores.

Jeonghan swallows, "W-What do you want?" He asks again.

Seungcheol sighs, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Your loyalty."

"After you just pointed a gun at me?" Jeonghan kicks the weapon aside, taking stumbled steps backwards, a tear or two slipping past his eyelashes.

Seungcheol's face remains blank, his once cocky attitude now like dust in the wind, "It's your choice." He says.

Jeonghan's stopped walking, hugging his own body. He's shivering, but he has a feeling it's not from the cold.

"Join me... or don't." Seungcheol takes a step forward, Jeonghan flinching, "I won't ever ask you again."

"You'll leave me alone if I answer?"

Seungcheol nods, "Mhm. You'll go back to stealing from stores and picking locks. I'll never bother you again." He promises, "So... an answer is all I ask."

"No." Jeonghan grants his wish almost immediately, "Like hell I'd ever join you. You just tried to kill me."

"But I didn't." Seungcheol smiles again, "Keep that in mind, honey."

Jeonghan inhales, eyes closed, "Just leave me alone."

The sun is setting. It's getting colder and darker and Jeonghan doesn't know if he can handle being blind with nobody but Seungcheol to keep him company.

"How disappointing." Seungcheol sighs, "Well... goodbye, Jeonghan." He salutes, turning on his heel to stride into the woods.

Jeonghan's eyes fly wide, "H-How did—"

"I'm not stupid!" Seungcheol shouts over his shoulder, "None of us are!"

And then Jeonghan's alone, Seungcheol disappearing behind one of the trees just across the field, dipping into the darkness of the woods and it's frightening because Jeonghan knows he'll never see him again.

But as Jeonghan walks back to the busy streets of Seoul, he wonders....

What would've happened if he agreed?

And why did the smallest part of him actually want to? After all, the fear made him blurt out a response.

It's not like he had anything else to live for.

Who would miss him if he left? Died, even?

Jeonghan tosses and turns in yet another hotel bed with the thought of the stinky, slimey dumpsters he used to dig through, the rats he shared food with.

Maybe they'd miss him.

Or the poor convenience store employee who was so terribly kind each time he asked him to leave the premises. Would he care?

Jeonghan closes his eyes as the image of Seungcheol disappearing into the woods replays in his mind, the tiniest little bit of ache in his heart forcing him to realize just how much he fucked up.

With that, sleep overtakes him, the lingering urge to have agreed to the proposition giving him a very long night.