Midnight

It was a gloomy day, it had just stopped raining and the air was still thick with the smell of it. Outside of a ramen shop down an alley in the city center, the bright neon lights were reflected by the puddles on the asphalt.

It was late; not many people walked in this part of the city at night. This part was tainted; most people repress its existence in their memories. It seemed like a vein filled with black blood, splurging from the city center to the east.

Smells of delicious food were lingering in the heavy air, the alley only illuminated by the many neon signs, creating beautiful swirls of magenta and blue on the ground, making it seem like walking on galaxies.

Black timberlands disrupted the swirls by walking through them; the galaxies seemingly exploded before coming back together. Grey smoke was blown through the air, disturbing the smell of food.

The man to which the shoes belonged held the source, slowly walking his way down the alley towards his destination. The wind blew through the man’s messily styled blonde hair, tearing at his leather jacket and cooling his exposed hands.

He took the last drag of his cancer stick and extinguished it by lazily flipping it into a puddle. He came to a halt at the dead end of the alley, littered with dumpsters. It was quiet, and the man stretched his arms.

A shadow released from the wall, walking towards the blonde-haired male. “Long time no see,” the shadow said in a cocky tone, to which the blonde simply grinned.

“True, when was the last time? I believe it was two weeks ago.” The blonde said in a raspy voice, tilting his head to mock the other.

“I know why you wanted to meet up, Suga." The shadow spat, and his face finally got illuminated by an industry lamp loosely hanging over the building's emergency exit.

The other simply kept on grinning. “So you’re going to pay your debt?” He said, dark eyes piercing, but demeanor still calm.

“Listen, I still need some. I barely have the half of it-” the shadow said, all cockiness gone. Instead, it was panic.

“No, you listen, Yugyeom,” Suga said, calmness replaced by anger. “The deal we had was fulfilled two weeks ago. Well, at least our part. And I’m pretty sure you know how this works, and I’m not giving you a second extension.”

“B-But-”

“No buts. Well, either you pay us, soon, or pretty Momo will know that you hired us to beat her boyfriend up, to get a chance with her. Which is pathetic, by the way.” The blonde said, his eyes twinkling and his grin amused.

“You wouldn’t. I’ll tell the police!” Yugyeom said, voice and body trembling alike.

Suga tsked and slowly walked towards the other. “If I were you, I wouldn’t have said that. You middle-class people are so naive.” He chuckled.

“W-What do you mean?” The raven said, searching safety in the shadows he came from, but Suga followed his every move like a predator about to strike.

“You came here alone, didn’t you?” The older male said, gaze crushing the raven in a mental chokehold. Yugyeom just nodded, and Suga grinned.

“Well, I didn’t.” And on cue, two more shadows stepped out of the dark, grinning in anticipation.

“No, no, please don’t kill me!” The younger panicked and tried to melt into the wall and disappear.

At this, Suga threw his head back and let out a laugh, because why do people get scared so easily?

He took a minute to think about it, and it popped into his mind. Maybe it was his chest and neck which were visible through the V-Neck he wore, covered with tattoos.

Or maybe it was his snake bites? Or perhaps even the leather jacket, ripped skinny jeans, and his overall appearance? He didn’t know, but he pushed the question to the back of his head.

“You got two days, understood?” Suga hissed, and Yugyeom flinched. “But don’t worry, I’ll give you a reminder,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting.

The raven was about to ask, but the blonde already swung his fist onto his eye. Yugyeom let out a small shout of pain and hunched over, but Suga wasn’t done yet.

He grabbed the male by his collar and pushed him against the wall. Yugyeom winced at the impact onto the cold and hard bricks, coldness seeping through his sweatshirt and making him tense.

“If you don’t pay, you’ll end up worse. Way worse.” He almost whispered in a dangerous tone. He kicked the poor guy in the legs, sending him tumbling to the ground, and had a satisfied grin taking over his face.

“Let’s leave. I believe he’s learned his lesson.” The boy said, and walked off, together with both of his ‘friends’.

What they didn’t know, another person hid in the shadows upon hearing the commotion, features obscured by the dark.

The person was Kim Taehyung, and at this moment, he realized that the dark wasn’t only the absence of light in a particular area; it was also situated deep in some people’s hearts.