RUSH <PART TWO> {EXO MAFIA-AU}

Wicked Game of Survival.

The doors of the casino opened as if they were presenting its interior to the five boys who stood outside, displaying its vibrant red paint job and golden countertops. It was Kai's first time entering this building, but for Sehun and Lay, this felt like a second home. There were staff members walking around with glasses of cocktails on trays at hand, rich men sitting at tables in a high-class fashion and threatening thugs cheering and applauding themselves as they won money or a bet. It was like Sehun and Lay somehow fitted into this type of atmosphere, smirking confidently as they strode into the lobby to admire the classes of people and the unattended tables to pick a spot. The three boys behind them followed except they seemed to be starstruck by everything that surrounded them: looking at the decor just as children would do. As they strode across the deep red carpet and over to the golden metallic banister that guarded the fall, they looked across the floor below as groups of people played at different tables, the crowd not too pact, but enough that you could guarantee, at least once throughout the night, you'd bump into someone.
"A bit fancy for you, don't you think?" Kai teased from behind Sehun. Sehun's coat floated up as he turned, the burnt red taffeta picking up the glow of the surrounding lights as if they were being pulled in by it. He threw a light-hearted punch to Kai's shoulder, both boys smiling and acting so young for an upper-class location like the casino they were about to play in.
"Good afternoon gentlemen. Charles, Eugene, I see you have bought a few guests with you." A middleaged British worker was stood to the left of the group, dressed in black smart trousers, a white, long-sleeved shirt and a black waistcoat along with thin, white gloves covering his pale skin. His hair was gelled to the side like a kinder version of Draco Malfoy.
"Freddie, how's it been?" Lay greeted his acquaintance serenely, stepping forward to the smart man with his hand out to be shaken, exchanging smiles like they were old friends.
"It's been a few months since you were here last, how are you?" Freddie asked, his features perpetual with joy to be reunited.
"I'm good, good Freddie. Work's been busy so I haven't had a chance to stop by. How've things been with you and the family?" Lay seemed genuinely interested in what the worker had to say, smiling and nodding at him as if amazed by every word he was saying. He either cared or was just a very good actor.
"I have so many questions." Chen said in a whisper, aware that 'Freddie', whoever he was, could probably hear their conversations if they were too loud.
"We used fake identities that boss provided us with last year so we couldn't be tracked back here, that's why we like to dress up." Sehun was explaining casually as he led the group away from Yixing's discussion and down the red-carpeted stairs. "We also got to know the staff members so if worst comes to worst, we can use them as witnesses or backup."
"Good afternoon Eugene." Greeted another staff member, dressed in the same uniform as Freddie upstairs. Sehun nodded and smiled at the slightly larger man and continued walking towards the table he wanted to play at.
"Eugene? You could've chosen something a little cooler." Kai joked, almost to himself as Sehun gave no reply except a fond smile.
"What's the plan, Eugene?" Chen asked, sniggering like a child along with Kai. Sehun ignored his two older members, knowing that he had to be mature in a formal building.
"Plan is, we play." He spoke to them, arriving at a less crowded playing table in the middle left of the large, open room. There was a dealer, as did all, beside the table shuffling a deck of cards like a king. The table was pear green and soft like the padding of a pillow, little puffs of green standing upright like soldiers ready for battle.
"Eugene, good to see you." said the tall, blond man who was shuffling at their table. He seemed kind, like one of those young adults that you could tell never got a detention in class. His eyes were a shiny coral blue, his skin clear, warm beige. He was tall, about a foot taller than Sehun, with long legs that were obvious from the way he had his shirt tucked into the band of his fixed trousers.
"James." Sehun greeted in return, nodding his head the same way he had addressed the two other croupiers. Kai smiled fondly at his younger, almost proud that he had done so well with getting to know the workers though he was usually nervous and reserved.
"Will it be Texas hold 'em?" he asked, but it seemed he was already sorting the cards into the game as he was asking the question like he knew it was Sehun's game. Sehun walked in front of a chair to sit, removing his coat and hooking it around the back to get himself more comfortable.
"Are your friends playing?" James asked, putting in a subconscious effort to make eye contact with Sehun while he shuffled the pack. Chen, Xiumin, and Kai positioned themselves around Sehun as if they were his bodyguards. None of them had any intention of playing, knowing nothing about the game, only Xiumin and Chen joining them twice before to watch their skills in the casino and not just their practice back in the warehouse. Kai had never seen or been in a casino, already somewhat hypnotised by the beautiful interior of the décor and shocked with the elegance of vocabulary and costume in the foreign building.
"No, but Charles will be down soon," Sehun explained, looking up to see Lay shaking hands and smiling with Freddie, walking away from him, then making eye contact as Lay scanned the room for his members. He walked down the stairs as if he was the owner of the building, his long black coat dragging slightly behind his frame. His royal hair reflected the cream yellow lights on the walls as if they couldn't even touch him.
"What's the game?" Asked a heavy, middle-aged man. He was round as if he was about to burst, his skin a deep, unhealthy shade of red. Just by his smell, Sehun could tell he'd smoke a fag twice a day: imagining the cigarette between his fingers as if it were part of his body and not a decoration. His hair was salt and pepper, a deep grey dotted with natural black youth, thin and loose strands stood upright like they were constantly being pulled. He was wearing a leather jacket on top of a plain, yale blue t-shirt. The jacket was accessorized with sew-on patches saying words like "fuck", or motorbikes. The ends of the coat hardly reached around his stomach, even if Sehun was to pull the ends together with all his might, they would still not close.
"Hold 'em poker, sir. There are three spaces uncounted for, do you care to join us?" James said, his tone changing as he spoke to the stranger. Sehun smiled as he picked up on the attention to detail the worker put in with his customers and acquaintances.
"Why am I not surprised? Eugene's favourite." Lay said in a surprisingly cheerful tone like Freddie had cleared his trails of thought and opened his mind. He had walked in their direction and was now wandering to take the seat beside Sehun before a foreigner sat there instead.
"Charles, it's a pleasure for you to join us." James smiled at his elder, tossing his head over his shoulder to follow Lay's pathway with his electric blue eyes.
"I'll play." Lately answered the man with the salt and pepper hair, his voice deeper and more manly than Lay and Sehun's; it was like they were children compared to him. He adjusted his coat in a way that made him look like he was about to punch someone so hard their stomach would flip, and sat down on the chair furthest from the boys.
"He looks like he could rip you in half," Chen whispered to Yixing when he got comfortable in his chair, Chen moving from behind Sehun to between the two of them. Lay shifted in his seat like he was nervous, though only thrill and excitement were alive in his brain.
"Two seats for hold 'em poker!" James announced to get the final players to join the table.
There was a woman to the left of Xiumin: tanned, blonde hair in a bun on her crown with streaks of bright magenta striped randomly across her scalp. Xiumin could tell she was chewing gum from the way her jaw moved, plus he could smell the sweet peppermint just from where he stood. Her outfit looked as if she rode a motorbike here: a leather jacket and tight black jeans covering her skin, along with long, skinny boots traveling up half of her calf.
She made her way closer to the table, Xiumin's eyesight joining hers and they shared a long and tense gaze before she spoke.
"I'll play." She said slowly, flicking her eyes back to Xiumin - who was still mesmerised by her- and smirked at him. As she got closer, the pink on her eyelids, which was the same shade as the streaks in her hair, got brighter; silver glitter repelling the lights on the walls. Xiumin watched her walk over to the seat beside Lay like he was a lion watching his prey.
"Madame, it is a pleasure for you to join us. I wish you luck." James said to the woman, nodding his head at her like she was a princess and not a biker in a casino.
"Very subtle. I heard that girls love to be stared at by a murderer." Kai stated sarcastically to Xiumin, noticing that he, quite obviously, couldn't take his eyes off the woman.
"I'll murder you in a minute." Xiumin threatened, jolting his head away from the girl and to the floor instead. Kai smiled at his embarrassed elder, rubbing his hand across the back of his shoulder as a sign of apology, his tanned skin looking lighter against the black denim of Xiumin's jacket that covered his white top. Kai liked Xiumin's taste of clothing and always tried to take ideas from his outfits to add it to his own. At the moment, Xiumin's choice of clothing was pretty plain: just a simple white, loose top with a half red, half black denim jacket, along with a black baseball cap and black jeans. Yet Kai found it somewhat impressive that he could look good in almost any outfit: plain or extreme.
"Can I take the last place?" A voice came from behind the group. They turned to see a nerdy-looking twenty-year-old: a flannel on his torso and glasses balanced on his nose. His hair was gelled up to a quiff, from the side, each hair looking like a flame - wavy and contracting as they reached an inch. He was holding a case like he'd just finished a day in the office: certainly not the type to come dealing with threatening men like the bloke a few metres from the boys.
"Of course, sir, do join us," James replied, showing his hand at the stool so the man understood his welcoming. He walked forward awkwardly, like a new student in high-school: always scared and always cautious. He took the seat and smiled at the threatening faces that stared at him.
"Let the game begin."

It had been a few hours since the boys left Chanyeol and Baekhyun alone: Suho going God knows where and the others out probably causing trouble. They were spread across their mattress they slept in every night, the white material of the duvet covering their free bodies. Chanyeol was laying on his back with his face turned towards Baekhyun, who was curled into his side with his hand on Chanyeol's cheek. His soft eyes were at rest, thin skin covering his coffee irises, though Chanyeol still looked at them like they were open and looking straight back at him.
"You're beautiful when you sleep," Chanyeol whispered, kissing his forehead to wake him from his slumber. He saw Baekhyun's lips lazily smile, his eyes slowly opening to see Chanyeol laying his head back beside him. The silent light cast shapes on the weary lovers, not blinding but gentle in a way you wouldn't expect a ball of fire and gas to do so.
"What's it like being a leader?" Baekhyun asked unexpectedly, quiet and slow like their dreary morning conversations.
"It makes me feel closer to the grave than a bullet ever could." He answered in a mediocre tone, blinking tiresomely. Baekhyun smiled again, hearing both sarcasm and truth in Chanyeol's statement. His fingers crossed over tiny freckles and hidden moles within his skin, feeling the colder areas of the boy's face where the orange sun wasn't shining.
"What's your story?" Baekhyun queried, his fingers still joining the dots on Chanyeol's cheek. His leg was wrapped securely across one of Chanyeol's own, though both still lacking clothing, they did not fear the idea of personal space.
Chanyeol took a second to study the boy's face, his eyes looking at everything like they'd never seen it before, like the first time their eyes had laid upon another.
"My story?" Chanyeol said, like he had to think in his mind of what life story was appropriate to say.
Baekhyun nodded, drifting his attention to the coil of metal laying peacefully on the dip of Chanyeol's collar bone. The silver was crafted with rings around it, deeper and darker wire-like circles wrapped around the dim gray metal. He hadn't noticed the italics on the inside of it, small and almost unreadable letters engraved into the ring reading the sentence: Chin-Mae ~ to speak truth.
"Your brother. What was he like?" Baekhyun took the ring into his fingers, twisting it with curiosity.
Chanyeol watching as the piece of silver walked paths in the boy's hand.
"My brother," Chanyeol made a noise in the back of his throat. "He was like a father to me. His name was Chin-Mae, named after my grandfather, who raised him but died before I was born. My mother was a heavy alcoholic, she left us home alone most of our childhood, so he was all I really had."
Chanyeol had wrapped his arm around Baekhyun's shoulders as the boy still played with the circular metal held captive by a chain around Chanyeol's neck.
"Though my father had moved away just as I was born, he never came to see me or wanted anything to do with me, so Chin-Mae was my father figure. He taught me everything that my dad should've; how to tieshoe laces, how to ride a bike, how to shave. It's a shame he never got to have children because he'd be a great dad. He sent me a letter two years ago, telling me about how grateful he was of me. I didn't deserve to be loved by him, I left him when he needed me." There was a stinging in Chanyeol's throat. "He told me to visit our mother as she missed me greatly, and now I do it every year. He told me that he was sorry."
Baekhyun looked up when a change of tone occurred in Chanyeol's voice, seeing a line of tear before the flood. He could tell Chanyeol didn't want to talk about his brother, yet he continued.
"He told me that he was sorry when all this time I had been the one needing to apologise, but now I can't. He killed himself because he had no one there to stop him. Mother was out drinking; we'd never seen our dad before and I had left to join Exo. I shouldn't have left him." Chanyeol coughed within the tears that were now falling down his face. Baekhyun raised his hand to catch the clear salty water with his finger, but the second he wiped one away, another fell just after. "He was alone."
Baekhyun could tell the boy was finished by the way he drew his always parted lips together and closed his eyes to retain his tears. His eyelashes were wet from his subtle crying making them look longer than they had been two minutes ago. Baekhyun wiped his thumb long across them, collecting the residue on the wire-like hairs and making it damp with Chanyeol's tears. He wiped the salted water on his naked torso and placed his hand back on Chanyeol's cheek. He brought his face closer and connected their lips; slow.