Conceal

1. The Flaming Tongues

There they were again. On the news. Displayed on the television. Telling everyone in the world frustrating they could be. How insurmountable they were. How problematic they would be.

"...yesterday night 3kg of drugs were discovered in the apartment 105-9 in Gung-dong, Yuseong-gu. The plastic bag found hidden behind clothing in the wardrobe, contains a mixture of multiple drugs in individual packages and they are yet to be identified. Apartment owner Lee Dawon, age 24, is taken into custody for further questioning and investigation and claimed a third party had placed the blame on him. Police have yet to confirm wheth..."

"Confirm?" Wonho cut off the reporter loudly, and took a huge gulp of his coffee, realizing its scorching hot quality a second too late. However, his burning tongue did nothing to quiet him. 

"Are they serious right now? It's clearly them! No one else in Korea does this. The answer is literally right under their noses and they are still confirming?! This is outrageous." Wonho's hand rose out from under the table, which, if they weren't in the most popular café in this are, would've slammed down forcefully on the table already.

Kihyun, sat next to Wonho, turned towards him and gave his friend a warning glare. "We're in public, for god's sake!" Kihyun whispered fiercely, pushing Wonho slightly to grab his attention. "You better lower your voice before people start staring. And I mean actually staring. You're going to embarrass us in front of the whole neighbourhood!" Kihyun ranted, wanting desperately to facepalm himself. The only thing that kept him from actually doing it was his last vestige of patience and respect he reserved for his friend.

"But it's true! I'm just stating the obvious. Everyone could've definitely guessed what the reporter was about to say." Wonho said matter-of-factly, still speaking at the higher volume than necessary.

Kihyun was thinking of a suitable refutation when he caught sight of Jooheon, sitting opposite of him at the very edge of his seat – on the brink of sliding off completely – leaning forward and squinting his eyes so as to read the subtitles on the tiny TV.

Giving Wonho one last side-glance, Kihyun leaned towards the table and reached over to his other friend. He tapped Jooheon's shoulder, causing the indulged male to jump in shock. When Jooheon finally broke his gaze and swivelled back towards the table, Kihyun was already staring at him with surprise and mild interest. Kihyun, as well as Wonho and basically anyone else who knew Jooheon would know how easily spooked Jooheon could be, but his somewhat stony expression prompted Kihyun's curiosity towards his behaviour.

"Did you see anything on the news just now?" Kihyun asked, looking back at the television for clues that might serve as an explanation. However, the reporter was already blabbering on about some newly innovated technology in China.

Jooheon, who seemed to be in deep contemplation considering his furrowed eyebrows and diverted gaze, took a while to answer the question. His eyes shifted from Wonho to Kihyun, as though understanding the question only now.

"Um..." Jooheon began, unable to concentrate with so many thoughts, inquiries, and speculations swirling into one big blob of disorganized information inside his head.

Not knowing what to do, Jooheon sighed, and that, surprisingly, did the trick. His mind was cleared momentarily, and he continued, "I saw my colleague on TV just now. On the news."

"Woah, really?" Wonho exclaimed, saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"You mean the news about the...the drugs?" Kihyun questioned, looking at Jooheon for any reactions. When Jooheon nodded, he continued, "Is he, is your colleague..." arrested? Kihyun wanted to say, but Jooheon beat him to it.

"Arrested. Yes." Jooheon replied, head lowering with such a deep "V" shape formed by his brows it must be hurting by now.

Wonho covered his opened mouth with both of his hands, but Kihyun wanted to know more.

Kihyun noticed that Jooheon was biting his lip, and was aware that Jooheon probably didn't want to say anything, but he asked anyway. Partly to satisfy his curiosity, partly so that he could help his friend, in whatever way, after understanding the situation. "But, why?"

Jooheon used a few moments to put his jumbled thoughts into sensible sentences. "Apparently there was a witness who saw Minhyuk – my colleague – looking all 'suspicious' around the victim's apartment building. The police probably thinks that since the apartment owner insists on being innocent, they should take in everyone that might have been the real culprit – the person who placed the drugs inside the wardrobe and pretended it belonged to the owner."

Jooheon looked like he had more to say, but Wonho wondered out loud, interrupting Jooheon's explanation. "Are they arresting your colleague because he's part of The Flaming Tongues?"

Jooheon's head jerked up at that, and the abrupt movement was enough to silence Wonho.

Kihyun, realizing how jittery Jooheon was, ignored the insensitive Wonho and said carefully, "Jooheon, did they say? Was it them again? The big, infamous gang?"

Shifting his whole body, Jooheon faced Kihyun completely and stared straight into his friend's eyes.

It was unusual to see Jooheon with fully widened eyes, and Kihyun had to physically stop himself from recoiling under the intense gaze, especially when he thought he saw a glint of fear in those dark orbs.

Kihyun thought about leaving this alone and pretending nothing happened, but Jooheon spoke up before he got to say anything. "I...I don't know. We were really good friends...I just...I never thought he would do something like that."

"But it has to be them, right? This follows the same patte-" Under the table, Kihyun kicked Wonho's leg lightly to silence him.

"There was also a symbol. The symbol." Jooheon continued, looking slightly more composed now. "It was on a paper, stuck to the plastic bag that carried the drugs. This is evidence that The Flaming Tongues were behind this, but it can always just be a copycat."

"Jooheon..." Kihyun started, wanting to comfort his friend but not knowing how. He was struggling to find the correct set of words. Or maybe there just weren't any that would be suitable in this situation. "I'm sure Minhyuk didn't really do it." It sounded wrong already, but Kihyun could only continue. "The police will do their job. He'll be okay."

A long stretch of silence followed, and for a second Kihyun thought he said something wrong and his friendship with Jooheon would finally end here, after 7 long years.

But all Jooheon did was stand up suddenly, as if readily settling on a decision that popped up unexpectedly. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"What? Where?" Wonho blurted out, ignoring the particularly strong kick on his leg. "We haven't even ordered our lunches yet!"

As much as he didn't want to, Kihyun couldn't help but get slightly irritated at Jooheon for leaving at such short notice. "Where are you planning to go anyway? The police station? Tell the police your colleague is innocent? This isn't going to change anything, and you know that." Kihyun realized he sounded a bit too harsh, but it was too late to take it back.

"You don't understand." Jooheon replied curtly, clearly unwilling to elaborate.

"Who's Minhyuk anyway? If you were such good friends why haven't we heard you mention about him once?" Kihyun hated his dubious tone, especially since he was talking to his friend, but there was no time to feel regretful. If they were friends, he had the right to know what Jooheon was thinking. Plus, it was the one unspoken rule between the three of them.

In an instant, Jooheon's face darkened a few shades, as if Kihyun had inadvertently stepped into some restricted territory.

"You don't understand." Jooheon repeated. "He's more than just a friend."